The Legend of Spyro: A New Beginning
by Mrphteven
Summary: When a young dragon, Spyro, leaves the comforts of his own home in search of his destiny, he meets an old, wise dragon named Ignitus, who sets him on a quest to find the elemental Guardians before they're lost forever. During his adventure, he meets the dreaded dragoness, Cynder, who cares about nothing but killing Spyro and freeing her master, who has lain dormant for decades.
1. Chapter 1

"What news of Avalar?" asked the larger of the two.

"The natives grow wary, and our division is at risk of being discovered," replied the smaller, "They have alliances with the dragons, if they are found it could bring devastation to us."

"I understand the situation, Skar," said the larger, "But currently we have larger matters."

"Which are, King Gaul?" asked Skar. Gaul stood up, and walked toward him.

"The Dark Master is conjuring a plan," Gaul said quietly, "A plan that will finally tip the scales in our favour, and when it happens, we can finally reclaim our lost lands."

"Are you quite sure about this?" asked Skar, "The army grows restless, they believe the dark master is losing his touch."

"Then they will make effort to remember who it was who gave them their power," said Gaul, "The Dark Master values loyalty, without it, they might as well be digging their own graves."

He looked out of a window, at the huge, looming silhouette of the mountain beside his fortress.

"After tonight," said Gaul, "We will finally know victory!"

"The dragons know our fighting style by now," said Skar, "They will still be impossible to sway, even if the plan succeeds!"

"If the plan succeeds, the dragons will face the largest threat they have known since the dark master himself," said Gaul, "They will not stand a chance. This isn't about territory any more, it's about wiping out their race forever."

Another person entered the room, and said "My lord Gaul, the Dark Master summons you."

Gaul followed him out of the fortress, and proceeded up toward the mountain. Gaul was, like the rest of his army, an ape. He was the largest of all of them, and their king. He wore steel armour and a horned helmet, and carried by him a large golden staff, with a crystal set in the top, a crystal that matched the one in his eye socket. He had lost his eye long ago in the heat of battle, and the dark master had given him the crystal as a replacement.

He remembered his first meeting with the dark master well. It had been long ago, when he was only the prince of the apes. The dark master had helped Gaul to kill his father and seize the throne, and in repayment, Gaul had offered his army's services.

Their had been a war on the planet of Eclasia for years now. It had started when the Dark Master had invaded the dragons' territory long ago. The war between dragons and apes had only grown from there. For a long time, the armies were evenly matched, and the war remained in stalemate. It only changed when the leader of the dragons, Ignitus Infurnous, duelled the dark master himself, above the very mountain that Gaul approached now. In the end, Ignitus had come out on top, and the dark master was imprisoned within his own fortress. The apes became leaderless, and from then until the present, the dragons had had the upper hand in the war.

It wasn't until recently, however, that the dark master had managed to conjure a magical connection to the world, in the form of a large beacon which flowed from the top of the mountain and straight into the sky. The dark master was able to speak to the apes through the beacon, and none of the dragons currently had any idea that this was going on.

Gaul climbed the many floors of the mountain, passing many apes working, and huge statues of stone. When he reached the top of the mountain, he found himself in a circular room, with the beacon spewing from the centre. Inside of the beacon were a pair of glowing yellow eyes, which watched Gaul's every move.

Gaul bowed on one knee when he entered the room, and spoke.

"You have summoned me, Master?" he said. The eyes narrowed.

"Indeed," said a deep, growling voice from the beacon, "My plan is in place, and it must be performed tonight. However there are some… Drawbacks. I will need you to tend to them."

"Of course, anything," said Gaul.

"The original plan stays in place, but it has come to my attention that a dragon will be born this year, and they alone shall have the power to defeat us," said the dark master, "You will need to eliminate this child before it is born. Invade the egg grotto, and destroy all the dragon eggs, so as to prevent it's birth. If you succeed, our victory is assured."

"Certainly, my lord," said Gaul.

"But remember, Gaul," added the dark master, "The original plan stays in place. Do not fail me."

"Of course," said Gaul, "I shall prepare the army."

Gaul left the room, and descended the mountain again, to prepare his forces.

Meanwhile, far across lands, in a huge temple at the side of a cliff, many dragons were flying in and out, enjoying a celebration. They believed the war to be over, as no ape attacks had happened in a solid two months.

They were all gathered in the main hall, and were chatting and socialising. On one side of the hall, a large red dragon was sitting, looking uncomfortable.

This dragon had the look of someone once powerful having aged a bit. His muscles looked worn, and his body was covered with many scars. His wings were a bright orange colour, his scales scarlet, and his spines crimson. He sat, looking anxiously around, muttering to himself.

"Something's not right," he mumbled, "This is wrong..."

"Enjoying the festivities, Ignitus?" asked a light blue dragon who came over to sit with him.

"They are truly delightful, Cyril," replied Ignitus, "But I have a bad feeling. I don't think the apes are done yet. I know the dark master, he isn't one to give up so easily."

"Oh, stop fretting, old boy," replied Cyril, "The dark master is gone, you yourself saw to that, and two solid months of nothing have confirmed they're lost without their leader!"

"That, or they're planning something big," said Ignitus. Cyril rolled his eyes.

"You worry too much," he said, before walking away. Ignitus watched him go, then stood up and left the hall.

He walked through the ancient temple, past tapestries, tablets and statues of ancestral dragons, and walked into a small room on the far side.

The room was a small grotto, and in neat rows around the sides of it were many dragon eggs, each one one of five colours: red, blue, white, yellow, or green. But their was one, right in the centre, that differed from the others; it was bright purple. This was the one that Ignitus walked over to, and admired.

"If the war is over," said Ignitus, "Where do you come in?"

He stood watching the egg for a while. Without warning, the whole building gave an almighty shake, making dust fall from the ceiling. Ignitus could hear the other dragons yelling in surprise. He raced back to the main hall, and found all the dragons standing dead still, waiting. The building shook again, and the front doors flew open. A yellow dragon practically fell through them, and the dragons caught a glimpse of flaming projectiles flying at the temple from the forest below.

"Volteer," Ignitus shouted, "What's going on?"

The yellow dragon, Volteer, got to his feet, a look of fear in his eyes.

"Apes!" he shouted, "Protect the eggs, we'll hold them back!"

Fear swept through Ignitus, and he ran back as fast as he could to the egg grotto. He burst through the doors, like Volteer had done, and sprinted to the purple egg. He lifted it gently into his arms, opened another door, which led outside, and took flight into the night sky.

He flew over the forest, and caught sight of the attacking ape army, who were fighting the flock of dragons with a vengeance. Still he flew on, until he caught sight of what he was looking for: A long, winding river.

He lowered down to the ground and landed on the bank of the river, still cradling the egg. He placed it down on the ground, and took the top off of a nearby mushroom, which he flipped upside down, and put the egg into. It looked like a small nest.

Ignitus then took a piece of bark from a tree, and wrote a series of runes and symbols onto it, and placed it next to the egg on the mushroom cap.

After that, he carefully placed the cap into the river, and gave it a push. It slowly floated away down the stream.

"May the ancestors look after you," said Ignitus, adding in an undertone, "May they look after us all..."

He flew away, and the egg continued its course down the river. It bobbed up and down in the current, occasionally a little splash of water coming over the side of the cap.

The sky slowly lightened around it as it sailed down the river. Soon, mist was hanging over the environment as the first light of dawn became visible over the horizon. After that, the sun began coming up, and still the egg continued.

Later on in the morning, the egg became caught in a net, which was hanging from the bank of the river next to a forest path. It stopped moving, and floated still. It remained their for about an hour before someone found it.

A small figure came flying down the path. It was a dragonfly, with a humanoid form and arms, but no legs. It was green, and glowing in the same colour. It had come to check its fishing net, but stopped in surprise when it saw the egg.

"What's this?" the dragonfly said to itself. With great effort, he pushed the small raft out of the water and onto the bank, and then hovered above it, looking with interest.

"An egg..." he said quietly, "but what creature?"

He didn't have to wonder for long. The egg began to wobble and crack, and soon, the shell fell away, and in its place was a tiny creature.

It frightened the dragonfly at first, but soon he was astonished and amazed. It was a tiny, purple dragon. It's wings, underbelly, and two stubs on the side of his head were a golden colour, and his eyes were the same colour as his scales. He looked up at the dragonfly and chirped.

"Where did you come from?" asked the dragonfly. The dragon wobbled over to him on weak legs, and chirped again. The dragonfly flew downwards and stroked the top of the dragon's head.

It was then he noticed the piece of bark in the raft. He flipped it over and read what was written on the other side. After reading, he looked at the dragon sympathetically.

"You don't have a home, do you?" he said. The dragon yawned, showing toothless gums.

"Why don't you come and live with us?" asked the dragonfly. The dragon turned his head to one side, and just looked.

"Come on then!" said the dragonfly, flying back up the road. The dragon, soon getting the hang of walking, followed eagerly.

The dragonfly, Flash, led the dragon to a small clearing in a swamp. It was perfectly round, with a large tree in the centre. On one side of the clearing was a small wooden door with two windows either side of it.

"This is our home," Flash told the dragon,"You can stay here for now, if you want."

The dragon chirped again, curled up, and fell asleep.

"I'll take that as a yes," said Flash, smiling. The door opened, and another dragonfly, a female, emerged, carrying an even smaller fly in her hands.

"Say hello to Sparx," said the female dragonfly, Nina. As Flash took the baby, Sparx, Nina noticed the dragon on the ground.

"Who's this?" asked Nina.

"I'm not sure," said Flash, "He doesn't have a name."

"Where does he come from?" asked Nina.

"Again, I'm not certain," replied Flash, "But look at this."

Flash handed over the piece of bark. Nina read what was written on it, and then looked back down at the dragon.

"We'd better take him in," said Nina.

"What should we call him?" asked Flash.

"Well, there was one name I had considered for Sparx," said Nina.

"What's that?" asked Flash.

"Spyro," replied Nina.

"Spyro," said Flash, "Yes I like that."

"Well then," said Nina, "Welcome to the family, Spyro."

The dragon snorted in his sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

From that moment on, the dragonflies regarded Spyro as a member of their family. Though he was noticeably bigger and purpler than the others, he was treated as equal nonetheless.

Spyro and Sparx grew to be the best of friends as they got older. In fact they were virtually inseparable. There would barely ever be a moment in which one was without the other. Both of them were considered outcasts by the other dragonfly children, because of Spyro's abnormality, and so he and Sparx were often found by themselves, playing outside or chatting.

Sparx didn't change in appearance much as he grew older. He always stayed the same golden, humanoid insect he had always been. He had four large wings on his back, and, like all dragonflies, two arms, and no legs. Spyro, on the other hand, changed dramatically. From the two small stumps on the sides of his head grew two long, golden horns. Down his back ran a set of curved golden spines, like waves in an ocean. From the tips of his fingers grew silver claws, and at the tip of his tail grew a golden, spiralling point. Though Spyro did have two large golden wings on his back, he wasn't able to fly. His wings were so different to dragonfly wings that they could never teach him, and so he was forced to remain on foot while the other dragonfly children flew off. This was one of the reasons he wasn't very popular with the others.

Spyro was considerably smarter and more courageous than the dragonflies, something that even Sparx disagreed with. His bravery was seen as a fault, something to be concerned about, rather than encouraged. He was adventurous and loved to explore, which his parents allowed as long as he didn't stray into the forbidden marshlands beyond the swamp. It was said to be full of monstrous creatures and deadly things, not to mention talk of mighty, winged beasts who were said to have control over the elements of the world. Despite his bravery, even Spyro was scared of those things. He had had many nightmares of one of them swooping down and carrying him away to some distant land beyond, and toward his doom.

Spyro lived a happy, content life for twelve years of his life. It was then things began to get strange.

It was on a day like any other. The sun was shining above the trees in a cloudless blue sky, and Spyro and Sparx were to be found in their garden, just in front of their small cave home, which had been enlarged over the years to commemorate for Spyro's size. Their garden was perfectly round, surrounded by a high bank, with a lone oak tree in the centre, and on one side was the dirt road that led to the river bank where Flash had first found Spyro.

Flash and Nina were talking just outside the house, while watching Spyro and Sparx play. Spyro was trying to catch Sparx, which was a difficult feat, considering the little bug was very fast. However, with their garden being round, Spyro was finding shortcuts. Sparx saw this, and took off into the swamp.

"Hey, come back!" Spyro shouted after him.

"Make me, purple boy!" Sparx called back. Spyro ran after him, laughing.

"Not too far, boys!" Nina called after them, "And not one foot in the marshlands!"

"Okay, Mom!" Spyro shouted back.

"It's funny," said Nina, "The most oddly matched pair of brothers, yet the very best of friends."

"Indeed they are," said Flash, "But I worry. Twelve years, and nothing. You don't think we should let him into the marshlands?"

"Not until we know he's coming," said Nina, "After all, he said he would definitely be here."

"I don't know if he will," said Flash, "If he doesn't come soon, we'll have to say something. He can't live like this forever."

"He's happy," said Nina, "That's all that matters."

Meanwhile, Spyro continued to chase Sparx down the swampy road. They passed many other dragonflies as they ran. Some waved at them as they passed, to whom Spyro smiled back.

Spyro turned a corner, and found that Sparx had stopped in front of a wall of dark trees; The edge of the forbidden marshlands. Sparx flew back to Spyro's side, clearly worried.

"Maybe we should go back," said Spyro. Sparx turned.

"Well, a little wander couldn't hurt, right?" asked Sparx.

"What are you talking about? We not supposed to go in there! there's… monsters in there," said Spyro

"Oh, don't fret, Spyro," said a voice. They both turned to see another dragonfly, a red one, hovering toward them. Both Spyro and Sparx groaned. The new dragonfly's name was Neon, and he was red in colour. He had never really got along with either of them. Instead he took to taunting them whenever he got the chance.

"Sparx would never have the courage to venture in there!" Neon continued.

"Oh yeah?" said Sparx.

"Come on, Sparx," said Spyro, "Let's just go home."

"What?" said Sparx, "You think I'm just going to take that from him?"

"You're going to have to, Sparx," replied Spyro.

"No I don't, and I won't!" said Sparx, and without further ado, he shot off through the dark trees and into the marshland.

"Sparx!" called Spyro, "Come back!"

He received no reply. Spyro sighed and ran in after him. The moment he crossed the line of trees, the atmosphere changed dramatically. Rather than the warm, friendly and safe environment he was used to, the marshland was dark, cold, and gloomy. He had the constant feeling he was being watched, and he walked slowly. Luckily for him, it wouldn't be difficult to find Sparx through the gloom, as he was constantly giving off a strong golden glow, which stood out a mile in the dark.

Looking ahead, Spyro saw the glow of Sparx disappearing behind a few trees. Spyro hastily followed after him, but skidded to a halt when he saw where the glow was coming from.

The glow originated from a large wagon, which was filled to bursting with jars of trapped creatures. Some of them were dragonflies, others were creatures Spyro had never seen before. The cart was being manned by two huge creatures, who were black and covered in rough fur. They were wearing armour, and strapped to their sides was a belt, which contained some kind of weapon. One had a sword, the other an axe. They were currently trying to force Sparx into a small jar like the other dragonflies.

"Get in there, you little gnat!" growled one of the creatures. Sparx was putting up a good fight, but inevitably, with the creatures being about three hundred times the size of him, he failed to get away. They balanced Sparx on top of all the other jars, and began to move forward. Summoning his courage, Spyro followed them.

"Do you think that's enough?" asked one of them, "I mean, she can't need too many, right?"

"You never know with her," said the other one, "She's so bloody secretive, and she wonders why we can't always do exactly what she wants."

"You should probably send the signal," said the first speaker. The second drew a strange black crystal from his armour and threw it into the air. It let off a black, fog-like smoke, and hung, suspended in mid air. Who or what it was signalling, Spyro didn't know. All he did know was that he had to free Sparx and the other creatures.

"Now, we wait," said one of the creatures. They both sat down by the wagon and talked, and while they were distracted, Spyro crept around the side of the wagon and found Sparx amongst the others.

"What took you so long?" Sparx whispered.

"Sorry, I just didn't want to get pulverised by two monsters!" retorted Spyro. He began to loosen the straps that were securing the jars to the wagon, but stopped when one of the creatures looked around.

"Hang on," he said to the other one, then, he stood up and walked over to the wagon. He checked the straps suspiciously, then walked around to the other side of the wagon.

Before he could see anything, he was knocked off his feet and shoved backwards into a hedge. The other creature jumped up and drew his sword, and Spyro, in a panic, seized the front of the wagon and flew away as fast as he could. The wagon, however, was quite heavy, and he couldn't move very fast. The creature managed to catch up with him, and soon it was right beside him.

"Spyro, look out!" shouted Sparx, as the creature raised its weapon. Spyro turned and opened his mouth to scream, but instead of any sound, a barrage of flames burst from his mouth and blasted the creature through the trees and into a rock, leaving him blistered and unconscious.

"Woah," said Sparx, "Was that... _fire_?"

"I...I think it was," said Spyro, slowly. He again went to undo the straps on the wagon, and soon, he had almost got it open. But, before he finished, there came a bellowing, screeching roar, and a huge thud as something gigantic landed on the forest floor where the apes had stopped to rest.

"Silverchaos, Grimblade, if this is another false call, you are DEAD!" screeched a voice. It was a female's, and was cold as ice, and unnatural. Spyro looked at who had spoken, and a chill swept through him.

It was one of the flying monsters he had been told about. She was completely black, save for her wings and underbelly, which were bright pink. At the end of her tail and on the thumbs of her wings were sharp, silver blades, and on her arms, neck and tail were silver bracelets, adorned with spikes, and she was at least fifteen times as big as Spyro.

She moved over and searched, and soon found the creature Spyro had hit first, lying in the bush.

"Grimblade?!" she said, clearly agitated, "You seriously got injured rounding up insects?!"

"They had help!" came the voice of the creature, and Spyro saw him climb to his feet, "Another dragon showed up and made off with them."

"Impossible," said the monster, "There are no dragons in this part of Eclasia."

"I'm serious!" pleaded Grimblade, "Purple, he was!"

At those words, the monster became very obviously shocked and enraged.

"Do you know what this means?!" she screeched, making Grimblade fall backwards again.

"What?" he squeaked.

"This means you have failed the dark master in ways you can't even imagine!" said the monster, ""I almost pity you!"

"He can't have gone far, he went that way, last I saw," said Grimblade, pointing to exactly where Spyro was standing.

"Look, buddy, you need to get these straps loose as fast as you can!" said Sparx, frantically. Spyro again hastily tried to undo the straps, but eventually gave up and swiped them with his claws, snapping them.

"There he is!" came Grimblade's voice. Spyro turned, and saw the monster almost on him. Even in his panic, he couldn't help noticing that her form was slightly familiar.

"Spyro, do something!" said Sparx. Spyro hesitated, then flipped the wagon. All the jars smashed, and the imprisoned dragonflies swarmed around the monster's head, making her stop and attempt to beat them away.

"Quick!" said Spyro, and Sparx, who had just emerged from the wreckage of his own jar, followed Spyro as he ran for the safety of the swamp. In the confusion, the monster lost them, and shrieked in rage. They could hear her roars until they were back in the swamp, and on the path home.

"What the heck was that?" said Spyro, as both of them stopped to rest at the side of the path.

"Well," said Sparx, "Before you found me I heard them talking about someone called 'Cynder'. If I had to guess, that was probably her."

"We are never going back in there again!" said Spyro. They began to walk back toward their home again, their breathing becoming easier.

"What do you think she was after?" asked Sparx, after a little while of walking.

"I don't know," said Spyro, "She definitely seemed familiar, though."

"Well," said Sparx, "I kind of thought she looked like you."

Spyro though about this for a minute, and the more he thought, the more he came to realise that this Cynder did look quite similar in shape to him. Was he, in fact, one of the monstrous creatures he had been warned about his whole life? And if he was, was that the reason other dragonfly children didn't like him? All he knew was that he had a lot of questions for his parents when he got home.


	3. Chapter 3

***Sorry about the very long gap, guys, I've been busy putting together my own original novel series that hopefully should be published at some point. Hope you can forgive me! :)**

 **Also, this is now the official Mrphteven version of New Beginning, the old one has gone. Sorry if you liked the original, but this one is so much better. Anyways, enjoy chapter 3!***

Spyro and Sparx trudged the familiar path back home. Spyro remained completely silent the whole time, making Sparx glance over to him every so often, clearly worried.

"You alright, pal?" asked Sparx. Spyro didn't answer, but continued to stare at the ground in front of him, and Sparx looked away again.

Soon they were rounding the final corner before coming to their home. Their parents were waiting.

"Hey, boys!" Nina called out. Sparx flew over to her and started to talk, and they went inside.

"What's up, Spyro?" asked Flash, noticing Spyro's gloomy mood.

"When were you going to tell me?" Spyro asked.

"Tell you what?" asked Flash, clearly concerned and a little worried.

"That I'm one of those… things," said Spyro, "Those flying monsters everyone's so scared of!"

Flash was very shocked to find out Spyro knew.

"How did you find out?" he asked.

"I saw one," said Spyro, "Her name was Cynder, and when she saw us she sent her henchmen to attack me, and when they did, I somehow conjured flames from nowhere."

Flash hesitated before answering, occasionally glancing back at the house, thinking about what to say next.

"Look, Spyro..." he said quietly, "We were going to tell you..."

"When?" asked Spyro.

"When the time was right," said Flash.

"Right for what?" asked Spyro. At that point, Nina exited the house and joined them, looking as worried as Flash did.

"Sparx has just told me what happened," said Nina.

"He knows," said Flash, with a glance at Spyro.

"Oh," Nina whispered.

"Why didn't you tell me?" asked Spyro.

"Let's go inside," said Nina, "There's a lot to explain."

They went into the house, Spyro sitting, while his parents hovered in front of him.

"You see, Spyro," said Nina, "Those things aren't monsters."

"One tried to kill me!" said Spyro.

"I know, let me finish," said Nina. Spyro went silent.

"As a race, they are not bad people. In fact, they are a very wise and caring culture. They sent you to us so that we could protect you."

"Protect me from what?" asked Spyro.

"We don't know," said Nina, "But we did it none the less. We never told you because we wanted you to have a happy life while you grew up, not worrying about where you belong."

"Who sent me here?" asked Spyro. In response, Nina flew out of the room and came back with a ripped piece of bark, that had clearly aged quite a number of years. Spyro took it from his mother and flipped it over. There was writing on the other side.

 _To whom it may concern,_

 _If you have come about this letter then you will no doubt have found the egg beside it. Inside this egg is a creature of the utmost importance, and I plea that you make its safety your top priority._

 _Please, if you can, raise it as one of your own, and allow it to grow and flourish happily. One day, you can tell them the truth, about me, and about where they come from, but only do this when they are ready. You will know when that happens._

 _I will attempt to locate them as soon as I can, and as soon as it's safe for them to return to our home._

 _Kindest regards, and much gratitude_

 _Ignitus, guardian of fire._

Spyro read the letter, and then slowly looked up at his parents.

"So… I'm not your real son?" asked Spyro.

"Of course you are," assured Flash, "You just came from somewhere else."

"But it says here I'll have to leave," said Spyro.

"Only if you want to," said Nina, "I would encourage it. You can't spend your whole life in a swamp that's far too small for you. I think you should go out, seek adventure. You'll always be welcome back here."

"So this 'Ignitus', is he just like me?" asked Spyro.

"I would assume so," said Nina, "We've never actually seen him."

"We don't even know if he will come," said Flash.

"Maybe I should go look for him," said Spyro. Nina looked surprised.

"You said you didn't want to leave a second ago," said Nina. Spyro looked confused.

"I don't know what to do," said Spyro.

"Well, go and think it over," said Nina, "Tell us your choice tomorrow."

Spyro nodded, and slowly walked away, to his little nest-like bed. He curled up and thought about everything he had been told. So he wasn't a dragonfly after all. He was one of the monstrous creatures, except they weren't monsters at all. It was a lot to take in. Soon, he felt himself falling asleep.

He woke up some time later, and looked around. He found that what had woken him was Sparx, also coming in to sleep.

"Rough day," he said, "You feeling okay, buddy?"

"I'm fine, Sparx," said Spyro. He hesitated. Should he tell him?

"Look, Sparx," he said, "I probably won't be around much longer."

"What do you mean?" asked Sparx.

"Did they tell you what they told me?" asked Spyro.

"Yeah, why?" asked Sparx, then he had a sudden realisation.

"You're not seriously thinking of leaving, are you?" he asked.

"I think I have to," said Spyro, "That letter said it was 'of the utmost importance' that I went back to where I came from."

"But this is your home," pleaded Sparx.

"I don't know any more," said Spyro, "You will always be my family, but my home is somewhere else in the world."

"So," stammered Sparx, "You're just going to leave, then? Not a care in the world?"

"No, I do care..." said Spyro.

"Can't I come with you?" he asked.

"This is your home," said Spyro, "I need to find mine."

Spyro curled up again, and went back to sleep. Sparx looked at him for a while, both sad and angry at Spyro's choice, and eventually, he, too, fell asleep.

In the morning, Spyro lay awake for an hour or so, trying to think of how to explain his decision to his parents. After a while, he got up, and found them outside with a very moody Sparx.

"Sparx has told us what you've decided," said Flash, as Spyro exited the house.

"Oh," said Spyro, "Ok."

"We support your decision," said Nina, "We'd imagine this Ignitus will be keeping close to the silver river, as that's where we found you."

"Alright," said Spyro. He looked at his family, and a twinge of regret planted itself in his mind.

"Whatever happens, you can always come back here, Spyro, and we will always welcome you," said Flash.

"Thanks, dad," said Spyro, "I guess this is goodbye."

They all waved as he walked away. He turned back one more time to see them, and then continued down the path, not sure of what lay before him, or behind.

He followed the path he and Sparx had taken yesterday, and was soon at the boarder of the forbidden marshlands. He hesitated, then crossed the line. Once again he was plunged into a shadowy mist.

There was no strange, hairy creatures this time. No giant black creature who wanted him dead. He walked effortlessly through the swampy undergrowth, already missing his family.

Soon, he came to the bank of the river, and began to walk beside it. If Ignitus was going to be anywhere, it would be close to the water.

On and on he walked, unaware that he was being watched from the trees above.

* **Thanks for being patient, hope you enjoyed. Hopefully I can get a better upload schedule in the near future.**

 **Please tell me what you thought, and if you think this version is better than the old one. Bye for now ;)** *


	4. Chapter 4

Keeping close to the bank of the silver river, Spyro ventured further and further into the forest, and further and further away from everything he knew. Along the way, he tried to conjure flames again. He found he could do it in short bursts if he concentrated hard. He stopped when he heard rustling in the trees above him. He thought of the two creatures he had seen yesterday, Silverchaos and Grimblade, and then he thought of Cynder, and began to walk much more carefully and quietly.

Though the sun was now high in the sky, it was still gloomy and misty in the marshlands. Spyro wondered how far he would have to venture to find Ignitus, if Ignitus was even alive. He could have gone further than the swamp, and he was currently walking away from him. No thought that came to him seemed good.

He became aware of a strange feeling, like he was being watched. He looked around, looking for any sign of life. He heard a branch shake, a twig snap, and a foot hit the ground, and panicked. He began to run forward but was ambushed by more of the strange, hairy creatures, who charged at him with blades aloft.

He managed to keep some away with a few bursts of flame, but he soon realised there were too many. He turned frantically on the spot, and, without meaning to, knocked about four of their feet with his tail.

"How about that?" he said aloud. Then, he became a whirlwind. Spinning and knocking his attackers in random directions. He was becoming dizzy, and knew he had to think of something new fast.

He stopped spinning, but his head didn't. He stood, trying to find his footing, when two jumped at him from either side. As if on instinct, he threw out both his wings and hit both of them squarely in the chest, knocking them back and heavily winding them.

Still surprised to find this hidden talent for combat, Spyro continued to fight away the remaining creatures.

Soon, they all lay around him, unconscious. He made to leave, but one of them stood up, and began to speak

"Is that the best you've..." he stopped dead when a rock hit him on the head, knocking him out like his comrades.

"That's enough chat," said a very familiar voice. Spyro looked up and saw Sparx hovering above the creature, very proud of himself.

"Sparx?!" said Spyro, "What are you doing here?"

"Been chatting with the old man," said Sparx, "And we both agree, us two belong together. I'm coming with you."

"You can't," said Spyro, "It's too dangerous."

"Who just saved your neck?" asked Sparx.

"I was doing perfectly fine by myself," retorted Spyro.

"Yeah, I was wondering about that. Where the heck did you learn to fight?" asked Sparx.

"I didn't," said Spyro, "I just sort of… figured it out."

"Well, you did a good job," said Sparx, "Now let's get out of here before they wake up."

"Good idea," said Spyro. Both of them began to move again, getting as far away from the creatures as they could.

"I think we've lost them!" said Sparx. Then, without warning, a familiar sounding screeching roar sounded from overhead.

"Oh no," said Spyro, "Cynder!"

Both of them ran as fast as they could. Spyro looked over his shoulder to see her swooping down at them, her yellow eyes full of rage.

"You're not getting away this time, boy!" she yelled at them. Spyro ran faster, and Sparx clutched his hands around Spyro's horns to keep up.

"Spyro, look!" said Sparx suddenly.

"What?" asked Spyro.

"There's a hole in the ground, she won't fit down there!" said Sparx.

"Will I?" said Spyro uncertainly. The hole was very small. He gave it a try anyway and found he could just about fit. As he crawled frantically down it, he could hear Cynder scraping at the Earth behind him, screaming in fury.

"She's going to...WAHH!" the ground gave away before Spyro could finish his sentence. He fell into an underground cave, landing heavily on the stone floor at the bottom.

"Ow!" he said quietly, his face screwed up in pain as he slowly got to his feet again.

"Who's there?" said a stern voice. Spyro and Sparx snapped to attention, their receding fear shooting back up again.

"I know you're there," said the voice, "Show yourself."

From around a corner emerged a creature that looked like Spyro and Cynder, except he was bright red, with orange wings, and also much stockier and older. His eyes were narrowed as he searched for the intruders.

"We're friends," said Spyro.

"That would depend," replied the creature, "Who exactly are you?"

"My name is Spyro," Spyro told the creature, "We're looking for someone named Ignitus."

"Well you've certainly come to the right place," replied the creature.

"What do you mean?" asked Spyro, emerging from the shadow and revealing himself. At the sight of him, the creature almost lost his footing in shock.

"Y-you're alive?!" he stammered, "But how? I was sure Cynder's forces would have found you."

"What are you talking about?" asked Spyro, "Do you know me?"

"Forgive me," said the creature, "I am Ignitus, and I've been searching for you for a long time. I thought you were dead."

" _You're_ Ignitus?" asked Spyro, "Then that means you can tell me where I come from, what I am!"

"You don't know what you are?" asked Ignitus.

"Does it sound like he knows?" asked Sparx from Spyro's head.

"Don't mind him," said Spyro.

"Well, you are a dragon, of course, as am I," said Ignitus, "One of the last surviving members of our race."

"What happened to the others?" asked Spyro.

"To explain that, I'll need to start at the beginning," said Ignitus, "The very beginning.

You see, long ago, dragons were the protectors of this world, defending the peace when and where they could, and keeping the natural balance throughout every species everywhere.

But someone decided to test that peace, and our will to keep it."

"Who was that?" asked Spyro.

"He calls himself the Dark Master," said Ignitus, "And he waged war against us in an attempt to seize control of the world. I duelled him myself, and ended up victorious.

However, he was far from gone. He somehow found a way to communicate with his armies, and mounted another attempt to attack, and let's just say the second try was much more successful. He desecrated the dragon temple and drove us into hiding. Me, and the other guardians managed to hold back the armies.

That was until the arrival of Cynder Blackhart."

"I've met her," said Spyro, "She was the one who chased us down here."

"You mean she knows you're alive as well?" said Ignitus.

"Yes," said Spyro.

"Then, I'm afraid it's already too late," said Ignitus.

"Too late for what?" asked Spyro.

"Let me finish," said Ignitus, "When Cynder arrived in the heat of battle, it marked the end of our defence. She took the guardians one by one, leaving us weaker and weaker. Now, only I remain, and she still searches for me, and I've been in hiding ever since."

"So why am I so special?" asked Spyro.

"What colour are you?" asked Ignitus.

"Purple," said Spyro, "Why?"

"I doubt you will ever meet a dragon of the same colour," said Ignitus, "Purple dragons are so unimaginably rare that many consider them a myth. In fact, there have only ever been two in existence, counting yourself.

You see, dragons have always had the ability to control specific elements. Red dragons control fire, blue are ice, yellow is electricity, green is earth, and white is wind. What makes a purple dragon so special is the ability to control all five elements at once, making them one of the most powerful beings in existence."

"What?" said Sparx, "Spyro can't be that special."

"And if I am," said Spyro, "Why does it matter if Cynder knows about me?"

"Cynder is trained to use unnatural elements other dragons cannot use," said Ignitus, "And as you have had no previous training, you really don't stand a chance."

"Then teach me," said Spyro.

"I can't teach you nearly as much as you ought to know," said Ignitus.

"You can't tell me I'm your last hope, and then tell me there's nothing I can do," said Spyro, "Teach me what you know, I can help find the other guardians."

"That sounds like an idea," said Ignitus, "But it's too risky. Cynder will realise what we're up to in a heartbeat."

"Do what she did to you," said Spyro, "Make her weaker, one guardian at a time."

Ignitus looked at him for a second, half frustrated, half amused.

"You have a way with words, Spyro," said Ignitus, "I'm up for your idea."

"What? We're going to intentionally annoy that giant evil dragon-monster?!" said Sparx, "Are you two crazy?"

"You should know that by now, Sparx," said Spyro. Ignitus laughed.

"If we are to go through with this," said Ignitus, "We'll need to find a way back to the dragon temple."

"Wouldn't the dark master find us easily there?" asked Spyro.

"That's what he thinks we think, which means he won't look there," said Ignitus, "And even if he eventually does, I can activate some emergency defences that will keep the apes out."

"I'm guessing apes are those hairy things that keep attacking me," said Spyro.

"You'd be right," said Ignitus, "We'll rest here for a while, and leave for the dragon temple in the morning."

"What if Cynder comes back?" asked Sparx.

"She hasn't found me in 10 years, I doubt she'll find me now," said Ignitus.


	5. Chapter 5

Spyro and Sparx spent the rest of the day and the next night in the underground cave with Ignitus. They neither saw nor heard anything more of Cynder, a fact that both pleased and worried them.

When morning came, Ignitus woke the other two early and told them it was time to leave.

"You can sleep properly when we get to the temple," said Ignitus in response to Sparx's complaints, "Right now, we need to get moving."

Once Spyro and Sparx had woken properly, Ignitus led them our of another entrance to the cave, that was carved into the side of a ridge. There was a heavy canopy over the area, which explained Cynder's inability to find them. Ignitus led them down a narrow forest path. It wasn't as gloomy as the marshlands, but it still was very shadowy.

"So how far exactly is this dragon temple of yours?" asked Sparx. Ignitus shook his head before answering.

"Several miles north," said Ignitus, "Please try to contain your complaints, Sparx."

Spyro tried not to laugh. They kept moving through the lightening forest. Soon, a green tinge hung in the air as the sunlight shone through the leafy canopy overhead. There were no signs of any apes, or, thank goodness, Cynder.

"It should be close now," said Ignitus. They pushed apart a thick wall of leaves, and found themselves standing next to a grassy plain on the edge of a cliff. Between them and the cliff edge stood a magnificent marble structure. It was four stories high, with decorative columns shaped like dragons supporting the many balconies and roofs. Directly in front of them was a giant wooden door guarded by two stone dragon sentinels. On one side was a perfectly round room with a small door on the side. The building was infested with ivy and vines, implying it hadn't been inhabited for years.

"Welcome to the dragon temple," said Ignitus, "What do you think?"

"It's amazing," said Spyro in awe, "Was this your home?"

"Yes," said Ignitus, "There were several more fortresses located across the world, which have all been destroyed now, but when they stood, they, along with this one, acted as the dragons' homes. They were all abandoned when Cynder entered the war."

"Why is this one still here, if all the others were destroyed?" asked Spyro.

"It takes an extraordinary amount of dark energy to destroy this temple," said Ignitus, "An amount Cynder can't hope to muster. Now, come, we can't stay in the open too long."

Spyro, Sparx and Ignitus walked toward the front door. Soon, the two door statues were towering above them.

"How will we defend against Cynder if she decides to come snooping, then?" asked Sparx.

"With this," said Ignitus. As he spoke, a space in the floor opened and a pedestal rose from the floor. On the top of it was a blue crystal.

"This is a spirit gem," said Ignitus, "This particular one fuels an enchantment around the temple. Once it is active, no-one without an innocent soul may enter the temple."

"What exactly are spirit gems?" asked Spyro.

"Gifts," said Ignitus, "From the ancestors, and from Nature herself. The blue ones improve your knowledge and capacity to learn. The red can heal your wounds and restore mental health, and the green are the source of our elemental power. If we were to enter a world without green gems, we wouldn't keep our powers for long."

"So, I breathe fire because of green stones?" asked Spyro.

"Yes," said Ignitus, "But being an elemental master takes more than just breathing fire, but all of that in good time. First, come inside and explore your new home."

Ignitus opened the door and Spyro stepped inside. Before following him in, Ignitus waved a claw over the gem, which glowed brightly before sinking back into the ground.

"There," he said as he came in, "Now we're safe."

Spyro didn't say anything. He was staring, open-mouthed and wide-eyed, at the interior of the temple. Directly in front of them was a huge, golden double door, either side of which was a staircase. There was a golden chandelier hanging from the roof, adorned with torches in brackets as opposed to candles. There were hallways stretching further than Spyro could see either side of them, joined to which were hundreds of doors, leading to places Spyro couldn't even begin to guess.

"Welcome home," said Ignitus, "That is if you choose to stay, of course."

"Definitely," said Spyro, looking around in awe.

"Excellent," said Ignitus, "Then, please allow me to show you around."

He led Spyro up the left staircase, which led to another hallway aligned with doors.

"This is our dormitory area," said Ignitus, "The room on the end is an emergency healing room, the next is the guardian's quarters, and all the others are places for dragon trainees to sleep. You will sleep in the third room down."

"OK," said Spyro. Ignitus led him back downstairs and went through the golden door in the centre. It led to a perfectly round room, with three more doors leading off, and a round pool of a murky green liquid in the middle. Ignitus crossed the room and went through the door opposite them. It opened into a flat courtyard in the middle of the temple.

"This is where you will be trained," said Ignitus, "So. Give me your best shot."

Spyro looked and saw there were three targets lined at the other end of the field.

"But… I haven't been trained yet," said Spyro.

"Dragons need to learn to act upon instinct," said Ignitus, "Your ancestral knowledge has lain dormant within you for years, now awaken it."

Spyro looked back at the targets, concentrated, took a deep breath, and blew himself off of his feet and backwards into the wall with a small explosion of fire, and flooding the ground with smoke.

"Well," said Ignitus, coughing, "There's certainly room for improvement."

Spyro tried again, and again, and again, but he never hit the targets. Soon, he was getting frustrated.

"Look, it's impossible! I can't do this!" said Spyro. In response, Ignitus turned and blew one fireball, incinerating all three targets at once.

"You can't do it _yet,_ " said Ignitus, "But you will. First, however, you need to work on controlling your anger."

"I'm sorry," said Spyro quietly.

"Don't be," said Ignitus. He collected three more targets and laid them out.

"Try again," said Ignitus, "And focus."

Spyro concentrated as hard as he could, keeping himself as calm as possible. This time, he succeeded in hitting the middle target.

"There you are," said Ignitus, "But you will need to learn to do it properly, if you are to master the art of Fury."

"I thought you said I needed to control my anger?" said Spyro.

"Control it, not stifle it," said Ignitus, "Fury power is gained through use of magical energy. It builds up until it can come in the form of a devastating attack. It takes a while to charge, though, so use it wisely."

"Noted," said Spyro.

"Now then," said Ignitus, "Onto the next lesson."

"Dragons, as well as having elemental abilities, are also a hand at melee combat," said Ignitus, "Your legs, wings and tail can all be lethal weapons, if used correctly."

"He's already mastered that," said Sparx.

"We'll soon see, won't we?" said Ignitus. The group of stuffed ape dummies suddenly began to move, charging at Spyro, wooden weapons aloft. Remembering his last ape encounter, Spyro tripped them over and beat them away with his wings.

"Very good," said Ignitus, "But you will need to learn to use them in harmony, combining attacks to form new, complex ones."

"How can I do that?" asked Spyro.

"Jump, and flip in the air," said Ignitus. Spyro did so as another ape dummy approached him. As he flipped, his tail uppercutted the ape in the jaw, knocking it's head off and making straw fly everywhere.

"Whoa," said Spyro.

"Indeed," said Ignitus, "It is always best advised to keep a large arsenal of attacks. The more you have, the less predictable you are."

"What other kind of attacks are there?" asked Spyro.

"It's best you learn them on your own," said Ignitus, "That way, you'll never believe you can't do something."

"That air attack was awesome!" said Spyro.

"Yes," said Ignitus, "And the higher you go, the more devastating your attacks can be."

"I can't go any higher than that," said Spyro.

"Nonsense," said Ignitus, "You have wings."

"They aren't right for flying," said Spyro.

"Maybe not for dragonflies," said Ignitus, "But you are a dragon, Spyro, and I'm telling you now, you can fly."

"I can?" asked Spyro.

"If you focus, you'll find yourself soaring higher than could be believed," said Ignitus, "But, I'm afraid that's something I cannot teach you. You'll have to learn that entirely on your own."

Later that night, Spyro walked onto the balcony attached to his room. Sparx followed him outside.

"What the heck are you doing?" asked Sparx.

"I want to try to fly," said Spyro, "Ignitus said I could."

"Just because he said that doesn't mean you should start leaping off of stuff," said Sparx.

"How else can I learn?" asked Spyro. He jumped over the railing, cheering as he did so. However, after falling without much change, his smile faded and he started screaming. He landed very hard on the grass below.

"A good first attempt!" said a voice. Spyro looked and saw Ignitus standing on his own balcony, trying not to laugh at him.

Every night, Spyro tried again to fly. It took him nearly two weeks, and eventually, to everyone's surprise, including his own, he was to be found swooping around the towers of the temple.

Not only that, but Spyro soon became a master of combat, and had learned everything Ignitus could teach him about the element of fire.

"You're coming along very quickly indeed," said Ignitus, "We might have a chance against Cynder yet."

Far away from them, in a black fortress beneath a stormy sky, Cynder was sitting alone in her throne room, when the door opened.

"My lady," said a voice, "We have found the crystals, and they're genuine. Where shall we send them?"

"Excellent," said Cynder, "Have them taken to the forts at the Tundra, Tall Plains, and the Forge. I will be along to each to make sure they're used properly."

"As you wish," said the ape, closing the door again.


	6. Chapter 6

Spyro woke up early the next day at Ignitus's call. He walked downstairs and into the room with the green pool, into which Ignitus was staring, apparently lost in thought.

"What is it?" asked Spyro.

"I think I've found some information regarding the location of the other guardians," said Ignitus. Spyro sat next to him, his interest peaked.

"It seems Cynder has four main fortresses, including her home," said Ignitus, "Each of them hold some elemental significance. Her home, shadow fort, is located in a place where an eternal storm blows, making it strong in electricity. I have only found one of the other fortresses, which is located in the tundra."

"Do you think the guardians are being kept in them?" asked Spyro.

"That is precisely what I think," said Ignitus, "I would imagine Cynder has placed each guardian out of their element, to weaken them, which means either Volteer or Terrador would be locked in the tundra fortress."

"How did you find this out?" asked Spyro.

"Some dragons have the gift of being able to see visions of the present," said Ignitus, "I am one such dragon, and this pool shows me what I need to know."

"So," said Spyro, "I guess I'm going to the tundra."

"Indeed you are," said Ignitus, "But a word of warning, the tundra is a historical battleground, and the many soldiers and machines of war are littered within the ice. If they are thawed, it could wreak havoc. Be careful with your fire."

"Noted," said Spyro, slightly irritated. He had mastered fire, and now couldn't use it.

"Best be on your way," said Ignitus. They exited onto the courtyard, and Spyro prepared for his flight.

"Hey!" said a voice, "You can't leave me behind!"

Sparx flew from the balcony above them and down to Spyro's side.

"If you don't want to be left behind, wake up earlier!" said Spyro.

"You should've woken me!" argued Sparx. Spyro rolled his eyes, and took flight, Sparx following close behind.

"Be careful, Spyro!" Ignitus called to them. Spyro flew up until he was engulfed in cloud, and kept going until he was bathed in morning sunlight.

"Which way are we going?" asked Sparx, shielding his eyes. From what Spyro could see, there was a shoreline a few miles away, and on the horizon was a gloomy land mass.

"There," said Spyro, pointing at the mass, "That's probably it!"

He began to move toward the horizon, dipping back below the clouds as he did so. The view was breathtaking. Spyro flew very fast toward the shoreline, and was over water in a few minutes.

"I've never been this high before!" said Sparx. Spyro couldn't tell if he was having fun or absolutely terrified, but he didn't mind nor care. After twelve years of being grounded while everyone else flew off without him, this was heaven. He was flying higher than any of them, seeing things they never had, using abilities they couldn't begin to imagine. For a shining moment, even Cynder didn't scare Spyro. He felt more free and powerful than he ever had in his life.

However, that moment was shattered when a cannonball flew inches past him. Looking down, he saw a fleet of ships lined all the way to the land on the horizon. After the first shot, all the others joined in.

"Well, we're definitely going the right way!" said Spyro. Soon, the air was thick with flying cannonballs, and Spyro had to dive, swoop, swerve and loop to avoid them. Soon, he went into a full dive toward the ocean, and Sparx held on to his horns again to keep up.

"Why are we going closer?" asked Sparx.

"We'll be harder to hit!" said Spyro.

"How does that work?!" asked Sparx.

"I'd imagine they're heavy, which means they'll be hard to turn. The closer we are, the more they'll have to move them!" said Spyro, "It also means I can do this!"

He launched a gigantic fireball at one of the ships, splitting it in half and sinking it. His theory proved correct, as he could see the apes manning the ships were struggling to aim at him as he shot past.

He rolled in the air, and sank another ship as he did so. The land was coming closer, and as I did so, the air was becoming colder.

"We're definitely on the right track!" said Spyro. One of the cannonballs grazed his arm in his moment of distraction, which brought him immediately back into focus. He saw another coming straight for him, and broke it into pieces with another fireball.

"Almost there!" said Spyro. He sank more ships as he passed them, and continued forward. Soon he was passing giant columns of ice rising from the water. He had a second of relief after realising the ships couldn't follow them, but after looking behind him, he was instantly tense again.

There were three apes following them, mounted on gigantic, bat-like creatures, which were screeching at him, steam escaping their mouths in the cold air.

"Well that's just perfect," said Sparx. The bats clawed and grabbed, attempting to seize Spyro from the air. Spyro tried his best to tuck, roll and swoop to avoid them, but it was soon clear he wasn't going to get away very easily.

It was then he looked at a nearby ice column, and saw cracks around the base. An idea formed in his mind.

"Sparx, hold on," he shouted. Then, he went into a rolling dive, and was soon speeding just above the water. He blew another fireball at a nearby column, which snapped the base and caused it to fall. It fell against another column, and began a domino effect across all of them. The bats were knocked off course in the maze of fallen ice, and Spyro managed to escape.

"Nice thinking, bud!" said Sparx. They flew on and were soon over a frozen shoreline. Most of it was cliff line, but there was a small, icy bay nearby with a small, black building of stone that looked like a gateway that lead deeper into the tundra.

He landed behind some rocks near to the gate, where he could hide but still see and hear what was happening. There were ape guards standing either side. Looking back out into the water, he saw a ship land, and a crew of apes disembark, who began to march toward the gate.

Another ape, much larger and more heavily armed than the others, walked from the gate and toward what appeared to be the captain of the ship.

"What is the meaning of this?" growled the larger ape, "You have strict orders to remain guarding the sea!"

"Place the fortress on alert," said the captain, "Something got past our blockade. Sunk two ships and downed three dreadwings. It may be after the guardian."

"Did you see exactly what it was?" asked the other.

"We presumed it was a dragon," said the captain, "But it was dead small, like a chick."

The other ape turned and barked orders at the guards, who ran through the gate and out of sight.

"Return to the sea, send for more dreadwing riders" said the commander ape, "And make sure Cynder does not find out about this. We'll deal with it swiftly, and quietly."

The captain nodded, and he and his crew returned to the ship, and sailed back out to sea. The commander stormed back through the gate, which shut behind him.

"There has to be another way in," said Spyro. He looked around for some way around the gate, but didn't see one.

"Why not just fly in?" asked Sparx.

"Because they'll see me," said Spyro, "And we can't risk our cover being blown any more than it already is."

He crept quietly to the side of the gate, and hid just beside the entrance, and listened. He couldn't hear anything, and when he risked a look, he saw there was no-one there. His only problem now was getting inside.


	7. Chapter 7

***Introducing MorePhteven! As of today, my wattpad account will be turned into a place for me to write non-video game based stuff, meaning short horror stories or stories based on other random stuff. (There's also a copy of the original New Beginning, if you had enjoyed it). Here's a link: user/MorePhteven**

 **On with the story!***

The gate was locked firmly shut. Spyro couldn't find a way to open it, at least not with his bare claws. He briefly glanced around for something to help, but before he could spot anything, he heard the guards coming back. He swiftly hid around the corner of the gate wall, and the two ape guards exited the fortress grounds.

They were too busy talking to each other that they didn't see Spyro whip through the open gate just before it closed. He was now inside the fortress.

"Spyro, look!" said Sparx. Spyro looked up and saw the silhouette of Cynder flying toward the fortress, carrying something in her mouth.

"Ok, I'm ready to go home, how about you?" asked Sparx. Spyro rolled his eyes and continued forward.

Spyro glanced at the walls as he walked, and a chill that had nothing to do with the snow swept through him as he noticed the ghostly shapes of machines and soldiers frozen in the ice.

"So what exactly happens if they escape?" asked Sparx, he, too, noticing the frozen agents of war.

"They'd continue fighting as if nothing happened, and wreak havoc everywhere," said Spyro.

"Oh, cool," said Sparx, "Great for Ignitus to teach you heat-based powers and then send you here as your first mission."

"I thought the same thing," said Spyro. He came to the end of the path, which overlooked a massive crater in the ice, in the middle of which was a huge, hemispherical structure, rather like a gigantic over-turned bowl.

"That must be the fortress!" said Spyro. He ducked for shelter behind some boxes so he could think of his next move without risk of being seen.

"So what do we do, big brains?" asked Sparx, "There's no way we can get down there without being seen!"

"I don't know, I'll think of something," said Spyro. He looked around, and saw an ice tunnel nearby. Looking down into the crater, he saw several more entrances to the tunnel system.

"Through there," said Spyro, "It should lead us down without being in the open."

"Key word," said Sparx, "'should'"

"Oh, stop being negative," said Spyro. They entered the tunnel, and as they did, they heard something behind them. They turned to see Cynder taking flight and leaving again, the object she had been carrying now glowing bright yellow.

"Close call," said Sparx. They continued down the frozen labyrinth, trying to keep in mind which way the fortress was. They passed many more frozen war machines and black suited soldiers.

"Who do you think they were fighting?" asked Sparx.

"I have no idea, but whoever it was, they're gone now," said Spyro, "They look as if they wouldn't care who they're fighting, just as long as they are fighting."

They rounded a corner and stopped as a large, tall, thin black tower came into view. The top was rounded and spiked, like a harness for some kind of energy.

"What do you think that does?" asked Spyro.

"I don't know, or care, let's not stick around to find out!" said Sparx. Both of them snapped to attention as they heard the sound of marching all around them. They quickly ducked behind some more crates as eight ape guards walked up to the tower and mobilised.

"Report," said the largest of them, clearly the leader.

"Nothing out of the ordinary, sir," said one of the guards, "But security is on alert, and looking for anything suspicious."

"Good," said the leader, "Cynder expects us to find and eliminate the target. Fail, and we'd all be better off packing our bags and running."

Spyro, trying to get a better look at them, slipped on the ice and knocked over one of the crates, alerting all of the guards to his presence.

"Send for the others," said the leader. One of the guards ran off, and those who remained advanced toward the little dragon.

"Can't we talk this out, guys?" asked Sparx.

"Zip it, you little locust," said the leader, "You ain't walking out of this one alive."

Spyro backed up until he was against the wall. Glancing backwards, he saw another shadow of a frozen soldier, and an idea formed in his mind.

The guards continued to advance on him, drawing their weapons, and Spyro blasted a ball of fire, not at them, but at the wall. Confused, the apes stopped their approach as large cracks appeared in the surface of the wall.

"Go," said Spyro to Sparx, "Now."

The two brothers scampered away, and the wall fell to pieces as a legion of one thousand year old warriors charged from the depths of the ice, attacking the apes. Their awakening seemed to have caused a chain reaction across the whole area, as the entire frozen army was bursting from its prison and attacking the ape colony.

"Go, Sparx, now!" said Spyro. They attempted to escape, but before they could, one remaining ape activated the tower.

A bolt of lightning flew from the top of the tower and straight at Spyro, who turned right at the last second to see it. It struck him in the chest and he was blasted backwards into another wall.

Enraged, and once again consumed by primal instinct, he opened his mouth and sent a second bolt, twice as large as the first, back at the tower, which shattered the top and sent rubble flying everywhere. Sparx flew to his side.

"I was going to ask if you were okay, but I guess you're fine," he told Spyro.

"Come on, we need to get inside!" said Spyro. They found an exit to the frozen maze that lead right to an entrance to the fortress. They looked at the crater and saw utter chaos. The apes were locked in combat with the orc-like creatures, who were trampling, burning and crushing everything they could.

"Nice," said Sparx.

"Let's get inside before they spot us," said Spyro. They ran through the tunnel and came into a gigantic round room, at the centre of which was a yellow dragon, who was currently gagged and bound.

"That must be the guardian!" said Spyro. He ran over to him, cut the bonds and removed the gag, and then tried to wake him up.

"Hey," he was saying gently, "Wake up, we need to get out of here."

The yellow dragon stirred and his eyes slowly opened. When he was fully awake, he lifted his head and looked at Spyro.

"Hello," said Spyro, "I'm here to rescue you. My name is Spyro, I was..."

He was cut off as the dragon burst into an extremely rapid speech.

"Well, it is most delectable to make your acquaintance, young fellow. My name is Volteer, guardian of the Element of Electric and master of electric based powers and other such exhalation devices in coherence with the electric element. If you are here to rescue me, you have most undoubtedly been dispatched by Ignitus, an old compatriot of mine, and I must say an intelligent and remarkably powerful individual, who of course, if he has once again enclosed control over the dragon temple, would have absolutely no problem in locating my position in that pool of his. Now, we best get moving before Cynder returns here, come along, boys," He got up as he finished, and began to leave. Spyro and Sparx just looked at him.

"What exactly did he say?" asked Sparx.

"I think he said 'Hello, my name is Volteer, pleased to meet you, I'm the guardian of electric and a friend of Ignitus's'," said Spyro.

"He couldn't have just said so?" said Sparx, "No wonder they gagged him."

Both of them followed Volteer back out of the fortress. And in Spyro's head, one thought hung.

 _One down, two to go._


	8. Chapter 8

The last remaining orc fell to the ground, covered in slashes and wounds. As it fell, a furious Cynder stalked past, scowling in rage. She had been called back to deal with the dead army, which delayed her plans elsewhere. What was more, one of the guardians had escaped before she could execute them. Her army had failed her, and now she was filled with a blistering rage.

"Mistress," said the fortress commissioner.

"Don't even speak," hissed Cynder, making the ape cower, "You have failed with the simple task of guard duty. You will pay dearly for this."

"This was something we'd never encountered before!" pleaded the ape.

"A dragon?" said Cynder, "You've been fighting them for over a decade, and this was, I'll have you know, was no more than 12 years old."

"This was no ordinary dragon," said the ape.

"At this age, he is no more than a normal dragon," said Cynder, "Allow him to continue learning and growing and he will overthrow all of us!"

"How will he keep learning?" said the ape, "The dragons are all but extinct!"

"Why do you think he's rescuing the guardians, you pathetic primate!" shouted Cynder. The ape fell to his knees.

"Send what remains of your forces to Tall Plains, and boost their security," said Cynder, "After that, you will return to Shadow Fortress, to attend to some… business."

"Yes, my lady," said the ape, and he walked away, fear for his life in his heart. Cynder walked back to the frozen beach.

"You think you stand a chance, boy," she mumbled to herself, "Bring it."

She took flight, back toward her fortress of darkness.

"Yes, yes, Volteer," said Ignitus over Volteer's jabbering, "It's great to see you, my old friend, but you're getting of track again. Please, describe to us what Cynder was doing."

"Yes, of course, I do apologise, Ignitus," said Volteer, "Well, while I was incarcerated in that forsaken desert of ice, I hypothesised that Cynder was using me and some sort of natural power source for one of her many schemes. She left with a kind of luminescent jewel that I believe somehow energised."

"She used you to power a crystal?" said Ignitus. Volteer nodded.

"Alright, next time just say that," said Ignitus.

"Pardon my vocabulary, Ignitus, you know it's difficult for me," said Volteer.

"That's not important right now," said Ignitus, "What is important is locating the other guardians and finding out what Cynder's up to."

"She did mention Tall Plains and Munitions Forge a substantial amount while I was there," said Volteer.

"Good, that's a start," said Ignitus, "I will inform Spyro as soon as I can. If you feel up to it, could you give him a lesson in electricity?"

"Yes, of course," said Volteer. Ignitus left the room and went outside, where Spyro was practising with ape dummies.

"Spyro," said Ignitus. Spyro stopped and looked around, saw who it was, and happily came to Ignitus's side.

"Have you found anything?" Spyro asked.

"We think so," said Ignitus, "We believe we've found the locations of the remaining guardians, and Volteer is willing to give you some more training."

"Great!" said Spyro.

"Of course, you won't have such a detailed lesson this time, as we are against the clock," said Ignitus, "But you should learn enough."

"That's fine," said Spyro, "I'm getting the hang of most things anyhow. The only thing I still don't understand if Fury power. I've tried, but I can't figure out how to use it."

"That takes a lot of time and skill to master, Spyro," said Ignitus, "You remind me of my old best friend. Now, go along, we don't have much time."

Spyro went inside, and Ignitus watched him leave.

"Let's hope you don't turn out too much like my old best friend," Ignitus said to himself quietly.

Spyro went back inside and found Volteer, who was waiting, somewhat impatiently, for him. He seemed energised and alert constantly. Spyro assumed it must be the electric in him.

"Come along, young dragon," said Volteer, "Welcome to Electric training."

He opened the door on the right of the room, which lead to another training area. This one was also outside, and was decorated with tall metal towers and a rounded fighting ring in the centre.

"The bread and butter of any electric warrior that desires to be victorious is that electric can be carried, which gives us nearly unlimited range," said Volteer, "Now, you seem to have unlocked your electric powers already, so give me a demonstration."

He waved a claw at one of the poles. Spyro blast a bolt at it, and it rebounded and connected all the other pylons in an electrical web.

"There you are," said Volteer, "You can use metal to your advantage, and carry your power to further ranges."

Spyro turned as more ape dummies began to run at him.

"You can use electricity to stun approaching opponents," said Volteer, "Use the information that you've acquired to stop this wave of attackers."

Spyro saw they were wearing metal armour. He angled himself, and shot another bolt at them. It linked them all together and the froze, stunned, and Spyro knocked the leader into the rest, sending them flying.

"Remarkable work," said Volteer, "You've grasped the concept well."

"Thanks," said Spyro.

"While it can be useful in melee combat, electric is best used for shielding and defensive mechanisms in dire scenarios," said Volteer.

"What?" said Sparx.

"Electric can be used for defence," said Spyro.

"Okay, no more thesaurus for you, pal!" said Sparx.

More dummies approached him, and Spyro was caught of guard.

"What do I do?" he asked.

"A dragon master can control their element through more than their breath, Spyro," said Volteer, "Just concentrate."

Spyro tried to conjure more lightning without breathing but is proved very difficult. When the dummies came close, he curled in a ball and tried again, and a field of electric spark conjured itself around him, creating an impenetrable bubble which sent more electric bolts flying off of it.

"Truly excellent," said Volteer, "Ignitus was right, you're a fast learner."

Spyro felt proud of himself. The door opened, and Ignitus emerged.

"I can confirm, one of the guardians is located at Tall Plains," he told them, "Time is of the essence here, how far along are you."

"All the basics covered," said Volteer, "The intricate complexities we can cover at a later time. Use your powers wisely, Spyro."

They went back into the round room.

"If we're going by the guess that Cynder is keeping the guardians out of their element, it will be Cyril who is being kept there," said Ignitus, "Tall Plains is built on a site of strong earthen power. In fact, the only other place which has more is a world very far away from here, named after the element. I doubt Cynder will be keeping Terrador there."

"A plausible and logical observation, Ignitus," said Volteer.

"Where is it?" asked Spyro.

"It's located on top of a range of mesas," said Ignitus, "It is sometimes named the Cloud Kingdom due to it's altitude. I will warn you, Tall Plains is the home of a tribe of people known as the Atlawa. These people are easily offended, and will not be too happy Cynder has desecrated and taken over their homeland. Watch your step."

"I will," said Spyro.

"Take care, young dragon," said Ignitus, "And if you encounter Cynder, come back. You're not ready to face her yet."

Spyro walked back into the courtyard and took flight, in the direction Ignitus had pointed him in.

"He'll be perfectly fine, Ignitus," said Volteer, "Don't worry."

"It's not him I'm worried about," said Ignitus, "There's another child out there, and I fear for them."

"You think there's still hop of bringing them back?" asked Volteer.

"There is always hope," said Ignitus, "We must trust now in Spyro."


	9. Chapter 9

***Thanks for 1000+ views, :D! And to all my fellow brits, hope you have a good November 5th!***

This time, Spyro flew the opposite direction to the one he had went to the tundra. Even from this distance, he could see the silhouette of the mountain range on the horizon. It loomed in the distance like a huge black wall. Spyro was flying over a thick forest to get to it, which reminded him of the swamp. He thought of his old parents, and worried for their safety.

Soon, Spyro was above the roots of the mountain, and he swerved upwards, toward the summit. He climbed higher and higher until he was rushing through a layer of thick, watery cloud.

When he broke the surface of the cloud, he was greeted with a hige range of flat mountain summits, all of them decorated with fields, farms, forests, houses, and structures. It would have looked quite pleasant, had it not been lying in ruin and dismay. Spyro could see the squadrons of apes and dreadwings patrolling or surrounding the plains.

He noticed a small peak nearby that led to a sheltered route into the village, which he landed on.

"Hopefully," he thought aloud, "We'll be less noticeable here."

"You're never certain, are you?" said Sparx. Looking into the cave, they didn't see any apes ahead, but even so, they proceeded forward cautiously. Inside, they were greeted with a damp, gloomy atmosphere and mossy, black walls. Eventually, the tunnel opened into a field of crops, which was swarming with apes. The crops offered protection, provided they didn't move too fast or too close to apes.

Keeping low to the ground and moving as slowly as was possible, he began to make his way toward the other side of the field. An ape began to walk toward him, and he stopped dead, and even resorted to holding his breath as it stomped by. After it had passed, he had a moment of relief, and proceeded onwards.

It was then the thought struck him. Why were the apes here? What were they searching for? Who or what else could be…?

His questions were answered when he nearly ran into a strange looking creature. It had the look of a humanoid llama, wearing tribal robes and holding a wooden staff. It, too, was crouching through the crops and hiding from the apes.

"Who are you?" Spyro whispered.

"A question better asked to you!" the creature whispered back.

"My name is Spyro, I'm here to help," said Spyro.

"Are you now?" replied the llama, "Well the Atlawa don't need your help. I've got this completely under control."

"Yeah, seems it," said Spyro. The llama glared.

"What exactly are you here for?" he demanded.

"Tell us who you are, then we'll explain," said Spyro.

"I'm Kane," he replied, "Chief of the Atlawa tribe."

"Was that so hard?" said Spyro. Kane glared again.

"Anyway," said Spyro, "We're here to drive out Cynder's army and rescue an ally of ours. Maybe you know where he is?"

"I assume you mean that dragon being held here," said Kane. Spyro nodded. They heard a brush in the crops, and reality stuck them again.

"I'll explain later, come on," said Kane. He led them to the edge of the field, where there was another passage in the wall. Once they were inside, Kane began to talk again.

"He's being held in the very centre of the village, at the shrine," said Kane, "I warn you, because of what Cynder has done to it, it has become cursed land. Venturing there is suicide."

"I'm sure we'll manage," said Spyro, "What were you doing in that field?"

"None of your business, that's what," snapped Kane, "I've already told you enough, now get your friend and scat."

He stomped off, back toward the field.

"What a nice guy," said Sparx sarcastically.

"Come on," said Spyro. They continued up the path, hoping to find some direction to the centre of the plains. As he walked, he noticed a large collection of cages lined up, with dreadwings hoisting them up. Unable to keep away, Spyro walked up to investigate.

When he got closer, he saw that the cages were all filled with creatures like Kane. There was an ape nearby, barking orders at the others.

"Get them out and on the ships as soon as possible," the ape yelled, "Cynder wants ever last one rounded up and shipped of to munitions forge, and you know how she gets when you fail. I might also add she's been in a bad mood lately, so get to it!"

Spyro crept up behind the ape, and after he was right behind him, pounced from behind.

The ape was immediately out old, but the others nearby saw what had happened and began to swarm toward him. Spyro stopped.

"Hey!" said Sparx, "Why don't you try shooting some magic out of your face!"

Without even thinking, Spyro conjured a blast at them, but instead of flames or sparks, a blast of ice cold air shot from his mouth and blanketed the ground with a thin layer of snow. The apes stopped and stumbled in the sudden cold, and Spyro threw a blast of fire at them, making them fly off the edge of the mountain.

"How many more elements can you fit in there?" said Sparx. Spyro proceeded toward the cages and began to pick the lock with his claws.

"Thank you sir," said one of the Atlawa.

"Don't mention it," said Spyro, "I doubt your chief would be happy I helped you before he could."

"He's never happy about anything," said the villager. With the help of the released villagers, he unlocked all the cages.

"Get to safety, and stay out of sight," said Spyro, "I don't think you'll be able to stay in your village any more."

"I doesn't matter," said the villager, "As long as our people are safe, we can rebuild. Your friend should be kept down that passage."

The villager pointed at a passage that seemed to lead to a bridge connecting two mountains together.

"Thank you," said Spyro. The villager returned thanks and they went in separate directions. Spyro soon came to one end of the bridge. As he stopped, he saw the gigantic silhouette of Cynder flying away from the land at the other end, carrying another glowing orb, this one blue.

"And we're done here," said Sparx, "Remember what Ignitus said; see Cynder, run for the hills!"

"Oh shut up Sparx," said Spyro, "She's leaving, we'll be fine."

"Hey!" said a familiar voice, "You actually made it."

Spyro turned to see Kane walking toward him.

"Yes, we did," said Spyro, "Find what you were looking for?"

"As a matter of fact, I did," said Kane, holding up a ring of keys, "But seeing as you've already released everyone, it was rendered useless."

"Well I'm sorry," said Spyro, "I thought I'd help."

"It doesn't matter," said Kane, "I wouldn't have got far anyway, there were so many apes around."

"You're welcome, I guess," said Spyro.

"Good luck over there," said Kane, "I won't lie, the guardian of the shrine is not easily beaten by normal folk."

"Well, lucky for us," said Spyro, "I'm not normal."

"Great, now he's getting cocky," said Sparx, as Spyro ran across the bridge. Kane laughed, and Sparx followed after Spyro toward another peak.

This one was small, and ringed by a wall of rock. There was a massive stack of columns in the middle with vines tied around it. On the other side was a light blue dragon with spines like shards of ice.

"That must be Cyril," said Spyro. Cyril looked up and saw him.

"Watch out!" he called, and as he did, the columns began to come to life, arranging into a humanoid shape, the vines acting as limbs. It roared at Spyro and began to charge at him.

Spyro tried to doge it's attack, but his back leg got caught, and he felt it break. He yelped in pain, and crawled as quickly as he could away. Meanwhile, the beast had gotten it's arm stuck in the ground.

"Are you alright?" said Sparx.

"Yeah," said Spyro, "Yeah, I'm fine."

He looked around and saw a red crystal stuck in the ground nearby, and he remembered what Ignitus had said. He took flight and hovered toward it. The shrine beast managed to pull it's fist from the ground and began to come forward for another attack. Spyro placed his claw on the surface of the crystal, and felt the pain fade away as his leg mended. After he was fully healed, he turned and shot a gigantic fireball at the beast's chest, blasting it backwards into the wall.

"Nice," said Sparx. He spoke too soon, however, as the beast got back to its feet and advanced again, not caring at all about the attack.

"How do we kill this thing?" said Spyro. As it came forward, he quickly studied it for weaknesses. His eyes settled on the vines holding it together.

"I have an idea," said Spyro. He began to charge at the beast, and when he was close enough, shot a bolt of electricity at it, making it stop and contract in the shock. As it stood still, Spyro snapped every vine with his claws, and the beast fell apart, crumbling into pebbles on the floor. He stopped for a moment to catch his breath, and then walked over to Cyril.

"Astonishing," he said in awe, "I've never seen a dragon so young triumph over a beats like that."

"Thanks," said Spyro.

"Well," said Cyril, "I assume by your colour you've been sent by Ignitus, and the war is back on."

"Yup," said Spyro.

"Well then," said Cyril, "Count me in. Although I fear Cynder may be back soon."

"Then we best leave quickly," said Spyro, "Can you fly?"

"I certainly can," said Cyril. Both of them took flight and began back toward the dragon temple.


	10. Chapter 10

An hour or so later, Spyro returned to the dragon temple, accompanied by Cyril. Ignitus looked pleased but also slightly worried to see the ice guardian.

"Cyril, are you alright, are you hurt?" asked Ignitus.

"Shaken, but otherwise perfectly fine, old friend," said Cyril, "I fear I will not be able to fight for some time, however. Cynder has sapped me of my powers temporarily."

"What did she use to do this?" asked Ignitus. Cyril looked confused, but interested.

"A crystal," said Cyril. Ignitus looked scared, but also like he had been expecting this.

"Then, my fears have been confirmed," said Ignitus. They went into the pool room, where Volteer was waiting. Cyril and Volteer looked far from pleased to see each other; in fact, they looked at each other with great dislike.

"What's wrong?" asked Spyro.

"I'm afraid myself and Cyril have attained a quarrel with each other that has caused a state of great displeasure for each other, and that has spanned decades now," said Volteer.

"What?" said Sparx.

"They argue a lot," said Spyro. Sparx shook his head and muttered something about 'just saying so'.

"Indeed," said Cyril, "And I see that years of tortured captivity has done nothing to stop that electric tongue of yours from incessantly wagging."

Volteer glared at him.

"Please, both of you, put your differences aside," said Ignitus, "We'll have time for a cosy catch up later, but right now you might have noticed we're still a guardian short."

"Of course, Terrador," said Cyril, "Have you any idea where he might be?"

"I've heard the apes talking about a place called 'munitions forge' a lot," said Spyro. The guardians exchanged worried looks.

"That would make sense," said Ignitus, "Beside her home, Munitions Forge is Cynder's most secure fortress."

"Is there a way in?" asked Spyro.

"I'm sure there is, but getting out will be much harder than getting in," said Ignitus, "Munitions Forge is a gigantic mine, where Cynder mines metal for her army's weapons. It's a labyrinth of tunnels, all of them swarming with apes and who knows what else."

"There must be way," said Spyro.

"There is," said Ignitus, "The mine sits beneath a mighty volcano, which means the creatures there are strong with the fire element. Luckily, you have just rescued a master of ice."

"Indeed," said Cyril, "Ice is, of course, incredibly powerful, wielded by only the best dragons."

"Cyril," said Ignitus, "Try not to be arrogant just once in your life. We're pressed for time here."

"Yes, yes, of course," said Cyril, "Come along with me, Spyro."

Spyro followed gladly into a third training room. It was freezing in here, there were no windows and a thin covering of frost covered the ground.

"Ideal conditions for practice," said Cyril, "But, with enough of it, you'll be able to use these powers anywhere, including Munitions Forge."

"Let's get going!" said Spyro.

"Well, conveniently, ice works very similarly to fire," said Cyril, "It can burn and seriously injure, and can be used to slow enemies."

"Okay," said Spyro, "So, like electricity?"

"Not quite," said Cyril, "People move slower and make more mistakes when freezing, but they do not stop completely, unless you are, like me, an elemental master."

"Oh," said Spyro.

"Worry not, we'll get you to that stage," said Cyril. Like the others, he conjured ape dummies for Spyro to practice on. Cyril was right; ice was very similar to fire, just the opposite temperature. He mastered it fairly quickly.

"Can you teach me how to use Fury?" Spyro asked after they had finished.

"I'm not sure you're ready for that just yet, Spyro," said Cyril, "You'll find out in time, though."

Spyro left the room, slightly disappointed but happy at what he had achieved. Ignitus and Volteer were waiting for them.

"I have confirmed, Terrador is being kept in Munitions Forge," Ignitus told them, "And Cynder is very unhappy about what you've been doing. In an absolute rage, I should say."

Spyro smiled, proud of himself.

"This, of course, means security will be tighter than ever, so stealth is your ally here," said Ignitus, "Then plan is simply get in, find Terrador, get out, get back here, without being seen. And, if you encounter Cynder..."

"Come back," said Spyro, "I know."

"We're counting on you Spyro," said Ignitus, "Good luck."

Ignitus told him the way to Munitions Forge, and Spyro, for a third time, entered the courtyard and flew off into the unknown. The guardians watched him leave until he was out of sight. Cyril and Volteer noticed Ignitus's worried look.

"Don't fear, Ignitus," said Cyril, "He'll be fine. He is the purple dragon, after all, the prophecies were made for a reason."

"We've thought that before," said Ignitus, "And look what happened then."

Munitions Forge was further than both the Tundra and Tall Plains. Spyro flew over rivers, forests, mountains, hills and valleys. He flew for so long, it soon became night time, and after a longer still, the silhouette of the volcano was visible on the horizon.

Even in the dark of night, the glow of the mine stood out like a beacon. Giant furnaces, rivers of lava and lines of braziers and torches created a huge orange glow in the night.

"Ignitus said to go in from the south entrance," said Spyro.

"Where's that?" asked Sparx.

"I'm guessing down here," said Spyro. He flew to a ledge on the outside of the cliff that surrounded the mine. It was dark, and empty here. Through the gloom, Spyro could see three tunnels.

"Which way?" said Spyro.

"You're asking me?" said Sparx, "I dunno, the middle one."

They followed the middle tunnel into the mine. Sparx's glow offered them vision a few feet in front of them. The only problem Spyro could see was that t would be difficult to hide Sparx should an ape appear. The tunnel curved and sloped, and soon, Spyro had no idea which direction he was facing any more.

"Sparx, stop," Spyro whispered. Sparx stopped flying, and he also noticed what Spyro had. There was a faint light up ahead, bobbing toward them.

"That's not an ape," said Spyro, "It can't be. If it is, man he's small."

Whatever it was came closer, and soon it came into view. It wasn't an ape at all, but rather a short, hairless creature wearing a blue tunic and a large hat. The light was coming from a candle in the middle of his hat. In his hand was a walking stick.

"Eh?" said the creatures, "Who's there?"

"Can't you see us?" asked Spyro.

"I don't boast great eyesight," said the creature, "You don't smell like Cynder's beasts, but that doesn't necessarily mean you're friends. Who are you?"

"My name is Spyro, and this is Sparx," said Spyro, "We're here to rescue a friend. Can you help us?"

"If he is a mighty dragon, I certainly can," said the creature, "I am Mole-Yair, leader of my people, the moles. Or at least I was until those apes captured them and forced them to work in the mines."

He grumbled angrily.

"Well, if you help us, I expect we can help you," said Spyro.

"Thank you, but I'm afraid it's impossible. you'd have to be as powerful as a purple dragon to get in there," said Mole-Yair.

"Funny you should say that," said Spyro, "Now, which way to the mines?"

"My lady, our guards have sighted something flying around the mines, should we put the fortress on alert?" asked the ape. Cynder turned, and smiled maliciously.

"He's here," said Cynder, "No. Let him come. I have a little surprise for him."

The ape nodded, and left the room. Cynder turned to look at the green dragon next to her, who was chained up to the wall.

"Your precious purple dragon doesn't seem so powerful any more, does he?" she sneered.

"You're insane if you think you can stop him," said Terrador.

"Well, you right about the insane part," said Cynder. Then, she placed a claw on the crystal in front of Terrador, and turned it. A flow of green energy began to flow from the old dragon, making him yell in pain. Cynder smiled evilly at him.


	11. Chapter 11

Mole-Yair guided them through the tunnels safely. Along the way he explained to them what was going on at the forge.

"Cynder has been using our underground civilisation to fuel her stinking beasts," he told them, "My people have been rounded up and made to work in labour camps around the mountain. My own brother works in the camp at the highest safe point on the mountain side. Your friend is also being held there."

"We can help you, if you want," said Spyro, "Take us to Terrador, and we can free your people."

"You are kind, Spyro, but if me and my brother are re-united, we can handle it," said Mole-Yair, "They were wise to keep us separate. Get him out, and we can take it from there. Look for someone named Exhumour."

"Noted," said Spyro. Mole-Yair led them into a small, hidden cave above a massive cavern. There were dozens of apes hard at work, and in the centre of the room was a track system leading into many different tunnels. Every so often, a minecart would come rattling out of one of the tunnels, and would be loaded up and sent away again.

"Take the middle track," said Mole-Yair, "It will lead you closest to the camp. This is where I leave you, I cannot go further without being seen. Tell Exhumour to come to the ravine bridge. He'll know what I mean."

"Thank you," said Spyro.

"Don't mention it, my friend," said Mole-Yair. Spyro crept quietly and carefully down the path, trying his hardest to stay out of sight of the apes. When he got to the bottom, he peeked between two stalagmites, and surveyed the room.

"So how exactly are we supposed to get from here to the tunnel without being seen?" asked Sparx.

"As fast as possible," replied Spyro, eyeing one of the minecarts as it rolled away.

"I don't think those are designed to be ridden," said Sparx nervously.

"We don't have much choice," said Spyro. When the coast was clear, he crept quickly and quietly, staying as low to the ground as possible, and taking every piece of cover he could. Eventually, he came to where the carts stopped. A cart pulled up, and when the ape who was loading it wasn't looking, Spyro hopped inside, and Sparx followed him in.

The ape luckily didn't look into the cart when he loaded it, but unluckily he dumped a massive pile of coal on top of Spyro. Beneath it all, Spyro felt the cart begin to move. He very carefully dug his way through the coal and looked ahead. The cart slowly picked up speed and went down the middle tunnel, as Mole-Yair had suggested.

Sparx's head emerged suddenly from the coal, gasping.

"Relax, it wasn't that bad," said Spyro.

"Maybe not for you, but in case you were unaware, you are about a hundred times the size of me!" retorted Sparx, climbing free of the coal and hovering beside Spyro. Spyro laughed for a second, but his smile soon faded when he felt the cart tilt; the track was getting steeper.

"Sparx, hold onto something," said Spyro. Sparx clutched onto Spyro's horns as the cart went into a near vertical dive. The track opened into a gigantic ravine, the walls of which were covered in massive falls of lava which spilled into the lake of molten rock below. They flew through the heat at breakneck speed, and passed many gigantic metallic structures that seemed to be hoisting giant containers of lava into caves on the side.

The cart flew into another tunnel and hurtled around corners. It would have been pitch darkness if it hadn't been for Sparx's glow, but Spyro could still only see a few inches in front of him.

Eventually the cart began to rise again, and came to a very abrupt halt as it collided with a surface, making Spyro lurch forward and get buried in the coal. After pulling himself out again, he saw what had stopped them: a large contraption that was lifting the carts to the surface.

"I think we've hit the end of the line," said Sparx, climbing out of the coal again.

"Which means there'll be apes up there," said Spyro.

"Great," said Sparx. The cart rose slowly upwards, toward a rectangular hole in the ceiling. When it got nearer to the top, Spyro hid amongst the coal once more, and eventually he came back to the surface. He felt the cart get pulled away from the platform, and heard a familiar voice speak.

"Got another truck o' coal 'ere," the voice said.

"Right, you lot, empty it and get it in them forges," said another voice, it, too, familiar. Spyro inwardly groaned. The voices belonged to Grimblade and Silverchaos, the two apes that he had met in the marshlands back home. Spyro became aware that the coal was being removed from the cart. He waited a second, before bursting out of the cart, sending coal flying everywhere.

"What the bloody 'eck," said Grimblade, coughing. He looked up, saw Spyro and exclaimed "You?!"

"Get 'im!" said Silverchaos, "She'll be well happy with that!"

"Good thinkin'," said Grimblade. He made to grab Spyro, but he simply stepped away and shot a blast of freezing air at him, visibly bored. Grimblade clutched his arm, which had locked up with ice, and yelped.

"Oh, get up, 's just a bit o' cold," said Silverchaos, coming forward and drawing his sword. Spyro sent a bolt of electric into the sword, which flowed straight into Silverchaos's arm and making his whole body twitch around. Having both of them disabled, he performed one last tail spin and knocked them both away into walls, knocking them unconscious.

"I remember them being scarier," said Spyro with a smile. The room exploded with cheer and he noticed the large group of moles that were there with him. They all looked similar to Mole-Yair, though with some subtle differences, and many of them much younger. One of them, however, looked nearly identical. This one stepped forward.

"Thank you," he said in a gravely voice, "I've wanted to see those two get pummelled for a long time."

"Glad to help," said Spyro, "I assume you are Exhumour?"

"Indeed I am," he replied, "Met my brother, have you?"

"Yup," said Spyro, "He said you might know where a large, green dragon is being held."

"I certainly do," said Exhumour, "But it is heavily guarded. I doubt you will get in."

"I don't think it'll be too bad," said Spyro, "Let's go."

Exhumour led him out through a set of iron doors, and into a cluster of buildings perched on top of a massive cliff on the edge of the volcano.

"Your friend is being kept in there," said Exhumour, pointing to a large door on the other side of the camp, "It is normally packed with guards, but I don't see any now for some reason."

"Then let's go while there aren't any," said Spyro, "Oh, before I go, Mole-Yair said to meet him at the ravine bridge."

"Ah, of course," said Exhumour, "Thank you, and good luck."

"Same to you," said Spyro. Exhumour went back through the doors, and Spyro went to cross the camp. When he came to the large door on the other side, he looked around for guards, and found none. Spyro was relieved, but also suspicious. He proceeded cautiously.

The door swung open to reveal what Spyro had been looking for: Terrador, chained above a massive cavern that led back into the ravine Spyro and Sparx had crossed. Spyro ran over to him, and went to untie his bonds. As he did, Terrador woke up and looked around weakly.

"Don't worry," said Spyro, "We're here to rescue you."

Rather than looking relieved, Terrador looked horrified.

"You can't," he whispered, "You have to leave."

"Not without you," said Spyro. The first cuff sprang open.

"Please go," said Terrador, "It's a trap!"

"What?" said Spyro, as the second cuff opened. Terrador dropped to the floor.

"I said it's a trap!" said Terrador. Heavy footsteps behind them told them of the arrival of someone new.

"A trap that worked beautifully," said a voice, a voice Spyro know all too well. He turned to see Cynder standing behind him.

"Nice to see you again," she jeered, "I don't think we got properly acquainted last time."

Spyro slowly backed away in fear as Cynder approached him.

"I want to congratulate you," she said coldly, "No one has ever broke into my fortresses and lived to tell the tale before."

Spyro came to the end of the ledge, and stopped moving.

"I hope you have told the tale," said Cynder, "Because you won't get another chance."

Spyro looked up at her, directly into her eyes. As soon as he did, something odd happened. Cynder seemed to change; her eyes went from demonic yellow with slits for pupils to normal, kind and emerald green, her scars faded away, and she appeared slightly smaller, younger, less terrifying. She was conscious of it too, because she stopped her attack in sudden confusion.

The moment didn't last long. Eventually she shook her head and resumed her old form, and went to attack Spyro again.

Before she could, Terrador tackled her from behind and held her back.

"GO!" he shouted, "GET BACK TO THE TEMPLE!"

Spyro didn't need to be told twice. He jumped from the ledge and flew into the ravine. After a few seconds, Cynder fought off Terrador and threw him aside, and began in pursuit of Spyro.


	12. Chapter 12

Spyro rocketed down a tunnel of magma, and re-connected with the ravine he had been flying through earlier. He looked back quickly and saw Cynder diving down in pursuit.

He saw the minecart track beneath him, saw all the metal structures and machines, all the apes running as they were chased by angry, armed moles, but he didn't take time to think about it. All that mattered was getting away from Cynder. He didn't even realise that Sparx wasn't with him.

"You can't run forever, boy!" shouted Cynder from behind. Spyro was overwhelmed with fear.

He noticed the cavern was quickly coming to an end. Looking upward desperately, he saw a light at the top, and rose upward towards it, Cynder getting ever closer. The climb was slowing him down, and that combined with Cynder's gigantic wings allowed her to catch up with him. She reached to attack him, but just before she could, they exited through a cave on a cliffside, and Spyro dived. Being small, he dove very quickly, and was able to pull away from her again.

Soon he was flying over the tops of trees, swerving and rolling out of the way of branches and treetops. Cynder had no trouble, as the blades on the thumbs of her wings cut the branches clean off.

Spyro was beginning to lose hope. Cynder was once again gaining on him, and he thought of no-where that he could get away from her.

Then a thought struck him. He remembered the barrier Ignitus had put around the temple. 'No-one without an innocent soul may enter the temple', Ignitus had said. It was his only chance. It was risky, as Cynder would then know they were based in the temple, but at least he could stay alive, for now.

He flew faster than he would have believed possible, over lakes, hills, rivers and forests, every second without sight of the temple draining his hope, until eventually, at last, he saw it on the horizon.

He felt a searing pain in his tail and his eyes watered; Cynder had slashed at him. He stopped and began to drop, and she swooped down after him. Suddenly, however, she stopped as a bright light few in front of her eyes, blinding and disorienting her for a second. Spyro was caught before he hit the ground, and looked to see his saviours were Terrador and Sparx.

"That was a close one," said Sparx. Spyro gave a very weak smile, which turned into a grimace of pain. Soon they were flying over the cliff, and into the boundary of the temple. Spyro gave a relief: they were safe.

Cynder stopped right at the edge of the barrier, watching them. Terrador carried Spyro inside, and Sparx turned and stopped.

"What ya gonna do now, huh?" taunted Sparx. Cynder glared furiously at him. Ignitus emerged from the door to see what was happening.

"Not so tough now, are ya?" said Sparx. Ignitus gave a look of horror when he noticed Sparx.

"SPARX, GET AWAY FROM THE BARRIER!" he shouted. Sparx turned.

"Why?" he asked. His question was answered, however, when he turned to see Cynder cross the barrier effortlessly. He looked as though he would pass out, and flew to join Terrador and Spyro. Ignitus re-entered the temple and the other guardians attempted to close the door, but Cynder threw them both off and came through anyway. She did stop, however, when a wall of fire erupted in front of her, blocking her path. She looked up to see Ignitus.

"Finally, we meet in person," she said with a sinister smile, "I expected more, honestly."

"You stay away from him," said Ignitus.

"Why?" said Cynder, "Because the big, scary fire guardian told me to? Dream on, old man."

"This fight doesn't have to concern you," said Ingitus.

"If you think you can reason with me, think again," said Cynder, "All I have to do is wait this out, and eventually your power will fail. Age takes a toll, doesn't it?"

The wall of flames was beginning to flicker. Ignitus strained to keep it active.

"You will not win this fight," said Cynder, "Nor will he."

"Nor will you," replied Ignitus, "When the truth is revealed, we will come to peace."

"Will we, indeed?" said Cynder, "You are foolish. You will perish at the dark master's hand, as will Spyro, and when that happens, this war will end, and your kind will be extinct."

"Our kind," Ignitus corrected her, "And Spyro is not the last. There is another."

"Another what? A child?" said Cynder, "You've certainly kept that quiet. Perhaps I'll get you to introduce me one day."

"It's not me who's kept it quiet," said Ignitus. Spyro couldn't have been more confused. Apparently, Ignitus had not told him everything.

"You have a choice, Ignitus," said Cynder, "You can give yourself up, and Spyro will live, at least for now, or he dies and I take you by force. Either way, I get what I want, so it doesn't bother me too much which you choose."

Ignitus looked worried and defeated, and dropped the flames.

"I surrender," said Ignitus.

"Ignitus no!" called Terrador.

"It's the only way!" Ignitus argued.

"Smart choice," said Cynder. She blew what seemed to be black smoke into is face, which knocked him unconscious. Then, she hoisted him up, and carried him away.

"Ignitus! NO!" Spyro shouted. Forgetting about the pain in his tail, and ignoring the protests of the guardians, he chased after Cynder, wanting to save Ignitus, not caring if he died to do so.

"Spyro, come back!" Terrador called. Spyro ignored him and kept going. Terrador caught up to him and blocked his path.

"Get out of the way!" Spyro snapped.

"Spyro, listen," said Terrador, "Listen to me! You are not ready..."

"I don't care!" said Spyro, "That's all anyone says to me! All anyone seems capable of saying! How do any of you know that I'm ready, when none of you let me do anything?!"

"Spyro, let me finish!" said Terrador, "You are not ready _yet._ But if you come with me, you will be."

Spyro's anger began to fade, and soon, his head drooped. He dropped back to the ground, Terrador following him.

"I'm sorry..." said Spyro quietly.

"It's alright, Spyro," said Terrador, "Everyone has trouble with emotions, Spyro, even the best of us, but before you can face a threat like Cynder, you'll need to learn to control it."

Spyro nodded.

"And, of course, you'll need to learn about Earth," said Terrador with a smile. Spyro looked up excitedly.


	13. Chapter 13

Terrador brought Spyro back into the temple. As he walked inside, Cyril handed him a red crystal from the healing room, which Spyro took gladly. His wound immediately began to seal up, the pain lessening.

"After you're healed, I'll take you into the courtyard," said Terrador, "I won't be able to have a long lesson with you, I'm afraid time is against us."

"Do you know anything about Cynder's plans?" asked Cyril.

"She's trying to open the portal in convexity," said Terrador. Volteer and Cyril exchanged dark looks.

"What's that?" asked Spyro.

"A link from our world into the dark world beyond," said Terrador, "If she opens the portal, she will release the dark master."

Spyro's wound healed fully and he put down the crystal.

"We best get going then," said Spyro. Terrador led Spyro through the courtyard that Ignitus had trained him in, and into another one by the edge of the cliff.

"Earth is very different from the other elements," said Terrador, "While the others can be summoned and left to do their effects on their own, Earth requires much more control. You need to tell it constantly what to do, and have patience. You must remember that the ground takes decades, sometimes centuries, to move at all, so it takes a great deal of focus and control over your frustration to master."

Spyro nodded.

"This time, reach your powers, not within yourself, but into the ground beneath you," said Terrador. Spyro closed his eyes tightly, straining to reach out. The ground began to crack violently beneath him.

"No, Spyro," said Terrador, "Calm, focused. You are straining yourself too hard. You need to be at harmony with the element to control it."

Spyro tried again, this time staying relaxed, his breathing slow. The soil began to move beneath him, swirling up into patterns and shapes in the air. He opened his eyes and smiled at his new power. Feeling confident, he tried to do something more. Summoning some more strength, he made a large chunk of stone lift from the ground with a thud, and moved it through the air.

"Very good, Spyro," said Terrador, "I'm afraid without delving into the advanced forms of this power, there isn't much more I can teach you. Earth tends to be very self-discovered."

"Thank you," said Spyro.

"You're welcome," said Terrador, "Now, let's go and find Ignitus!"

They went back to the pool, joining the other two guardians.

"How will we see where he is if none of us can use the pool?" asked Spyro.

"Process of elimination," said Terrador, "I was held in Munitions Forge, where were you two held?"

"Tall Plains," said Cyril.

"The Tundra," said Volteer.

"Then that leaves just one place," said Terrador, "Shadow Fortress, her most secure location, as well as her home."

"How will I get inside?" asked Spyro.

"There will be no way of getting in without being seen," said Terrador, "You'll need to fight your way in. Cynder will be expecting you, once in, there's no going out until you fail or succeed."

"Well that's re-assuring," said Sparx. The guardians all looked concerned. There was a moment of silence

"It's now or never," said Cyril, "If we are to go at all, it must be now."

"Agreed," said Terrador, "But Spyro, the choice is truly yours."

"I want to save him," said Spyro.

"Alright then," said Terrador, "Shadow Fortress is in the North, built within the storm-crystal fields. Once you are there, there's no flying, not in the storm the crystals generate. You'll need to enter through the front gates, and find a way to the top from inside."

"Alright," said Spyro, "What should I do if I come across Cynder?"

"That, I'm afraid, is inevitable," said Terrador, "You'll have to face her at some point or another anyway, might as well be now."

Spyro felt scared, but eventually calmed himself down, and said confidently, "If I have to, I will."

"That's the spirit," said Terrador. Spyro went back into the courtyard and went north, as Terrador had said.

Unlike the other trips he had taken, where his excitement had built, and he had been having fun flying, this time he was focused and went forward without commenting on anything. Sparx recognised this and so refrained from speaking. At least for as long as he could.

"So… this time we have to face her?" he asked.

"Yes, Sparx," said Spyro, "Or at least I have to. You can wait for me if you like, this place will be tough."

"Heck, at this point, what do I have to loose?" said Sparx. Spyro smiled, glad to have his brother on his side.

They flew over a mountain, and found themselves above a large field of glowing, white-purple crystals, which were sparking and occasionally sending a bolt of pink lightning into the air, fuelling a storm that raged overhead. The further into the fields they went, the wetter, windier and louder the storm became. Eventually, at the eye of the storm, they came to a huge, black, sinister looking castle. Here, the rain and the lightning stopped, but the wind was still active.

"This has to be it," said Spyro.

"What, the giant, evil, black building in the middle of the crystals exactly where Terrador told us it would be? I'm guessing that's it," said Sparx. Spyro rolled his eyes, and they came to land on a path just in front of two huge, black doors. There were apes everywhere. Spyro hid behind a crystal.

"Well," said Spyro, "Terrador did say there would be no point trying to be stealth."

Spyro pounced from behind the crystal and launched a fireball straight into the middle of a group of apes, creating a giant explosion and sending them flying everywhere.

The rest of them, overcoming their surprise, came running at him. He blocked a few with a wall of ice that acted as a temporary shield. He fought of the ones on his side of the wall, then hooked around it and took on the ones behind. There were still dozens more to face, however.

"Wait, Spyro," said Sparx, "Doesn't water conduct electricity?"

"I don't see any water around here, Sparx!" said Spyro.

"I do," said Sparx, leaning against the wall of ice.

"O-oh," said Spyro, cottoning on. He created another, much bigger, wall of ice, and melted it with his fire, creating a small flood of water, which swept over the apes, but didn't bother them too much. Spyro then flew up, and electrified the water. Every single ape was affected by it, all of them simultaneously stopping, twitching wildly, and dropping down, unconscious.

"When did you get smart?" asked Spyro.

"I'm just as confused as you are, bud," said Sparx. They proceeded to the doors and pushed them open.

"She must be at the top," said Spyro. They walked inside. It was brimming with more ape guards, but they advanced up the tower, closer to Cynder. Eventually, they came to a platform in a tall, cylindrical room. The moment Spyro stepped on it, it began to rise upwards.

It carried them up to the top of the tower, where they were greeted with the sight of Ignitus chained up like Terrador had been, a red crystal draining what seemed to be a thin rope of flame from him. It appeared to be causing him immense discomfort.

When he saw Spyro, he panicked.

"Spyro, no!" he shouted, "You shouldn't have followed us!"

"I didn't have a choice," said Spyro. He turned around, and as he had expected, saw Cynder standing there, watching him.

"Recovered from our last encounter?" she sneered, "Maybe you're more courageous than I though."

"Spyro, run!" said Ignitus.

"Not this time," said Spyro, "This time, only one of us leaves."

"Then by all means," said Cynder, "Bring it."


	14. Chapter 14

* **2,000+** **reads** **! :** **D** **Thanks, everyone!**

 **Ps, I'm sorry if this fight is a bit dull, I'll try my hardest, but fight scenes are not really my strong point. As I said, though, I'll do my best.** *****

Without a seconds delay, Cynder pounced forward and began to attack Spyro. Luckily he had managed to dive out of the way. Overcoming his surprise, he began to fight back, with great difficulty. Her tail, wings, legs and mouth made it hard to attack from any angle.

"There's no way you're winning this, boy!" shouted Cynder, taking a wicked swipe at him, which thankfully missed. Spyro fought back with a wave of fire. It seemed to hurt Cynder briefly, but she got over it very quickly.

"You'll have to do better than that!" she shouted. She picked Spyro up and threw him off the balcony. Spyro corrected the flight and returned with a spike of ice, that grazed Cynder's front leg, leaving a small wound. She held it in pain, then looked back at Spyro with total fury in her eyes.

Spyro knew he could keep this up forever, but he would never be able to beat Cynder. He needed to think of something, and fast.

"Sparx!" Spyro called out, dodging a vicious swipe from Cynder's tail.

"Me?!" said Sparx, who had been cowering on the side, "I don't know!"

"Just thought you might want to join in," said Spyro.

"Thanks, but I'll pass!" said Sparx.

Spyro kept fighting, running out of breath and energy fast. Cynder kept going like a machine, not wanting Spyro to escape from her again. Spyro needed a distraction, and fast, so he could think about what he had to do next.

Cynder swept Spyro off of his feet without any warning, knocking him onto his side. He looked up again to see her walking toward him.

It happened again, this time much more prominently. Their eyes met, and Cynder changed. She looked lost, afraid, sad, helpless, and young. Spyro felt an unusual and unexplained urge to help her.

But again, the moment passed as quickly as it had come. Cynder shook off the change and went to attack him again. Spyro just managed to move out of the way.

"I've had enough of you," said Cynder, "You've done nothing but hinder me this entire time, no wonder the dark master wants you dead."

Spyro tried, and failed to stand up. As Cynder watched him struggle, Ignitus fell to the floor, the cuffs having opened. The crystal beneath him was glowing bright red.

"I have places to be," said Cynder, "You are on your final chance. Interfere again, and you will die."

She turned away from him to pick up the crystal, then went to the edge of the balcony and opened a white, swirling vortex, into which she vanished.

Spyro got slowly to his feet and looked up, watching Cynder vanishing into the portal. He limped over to Ignitus too check on him.

"Where did she go?" asked Sparx, coming to join Spyro.

"Convexity," said Ignitus weakly, "The realm between realms. In there she will be able to free the dark master."

"Are you okay?" Spyro asked, walking over to Ignitus.

"Yes, I'm fine," said Ignitus, "I'm fine. Are you?"

"Yes," said Spyro, "But she got the last crystal."

"I know," said Ignitus, "She has to be stopped. You have done brilliantly, Spyro."

"I'm not finished yet," said Spyro, "But there is something I'd like to ask you."

"What is it?" asked Ignitus. Spyro thought for a second. How was he to explain it?

"Well, you see..." said Spyro, "Every time I look into Cynder's eyes, she… changes. Her eyes change colour, all her scars vanish, and she seems… almost friendlier. Why does that happen?"

Ignitus sighed. He looked as though he had been expecting this to come.

"Spyro, I… I haven't been entirely honest with you about Cynder," he told Spyro, "There is much more to her than you may think."

"How so?" Spyro asked.

"It was the night of the raid, the day I took your egg to the silver river," said Ignitus, "I returned to the grotto to find a scene of total devastation. All the eggs had been smashed, the dragons within killed, and the apes had overrun the guardians. In a rage, I went to attack their leader, the ape king, Gaul. I should have realised I wasn't a match for him. He has unnatural powers bestowed to him by the dark master that I cannot even begin to imagine. He defeated me with ease, and left the temple. Just before he did, however, I noticed something. He was carrying one last egg, the only surviving one, and he was protecting it."

"I heard you talking about another survivor," said Spyro, "But what does that have to do with Cynder? Was that egg her child or something?"

Ignitus didn't answer, and Spyro stopped talking and listened.

"Gaul took the egg back to his fortress. It hatched later that same day, giving birth to a healthy female wind dragon. A promising life, if they hadn't ruined it," said Ignitus, "They tortured her, filled her with dark power and rage, twisted her mind and body, turning her into a monster, that to this day still does the dark master's bidding."

"You mean that egg… _was_ Cynder?" said Spyro. Ignitus nodded sadly.

"You must understand, Spyro," said Ignitus, "Nothing that Cynder has ever said nor done is a reflection on her personality. It is the dark master using her like a puppet, a costume. That is why she can cross the barrier, Spyro, her soul is pure, and untarnished, as she has never committed an act of evil under her own influence. That is what you see when you look into her eyes, her true self, fighting to get out."

"Can it?" asked Spyro. Ignitus stuttered on his words, trying to find the right way to explain.

"Well… yes," said Ignitus, "But I'm afraid as she is so young, and has been under this curse her entire life, there won't be much more time to release her. The curse is destroying her soul. If she remains like this much longer, then I am afraid to say that she will die."

Like he had done when Cynder had changed, Spyro felt remorseful and sorry for Cynder, and had a burning desire to help her.

"How long has she got?" Spyro asked.

"That doesn't matter any more," said Ignitus, "Tonight may be her final night. There is one element the dark master still lacks to open the portal."

"Wind..." said Spyro, putting two and two together, "Is there still time?"

"Yes," said Ignitus, "Convexity exists on a separate reality. Time moves at a fraction of what it does here. She won't have got far just yet. But I warn you, once you enter, you will slow to it's level, meaning it will move in real time. Once inside, you must hurry!"

"Alright," said Spyro, he hovered off the ground, but Ignitus held him back.

"Spyro," he said quietly, "I ask only one thing from you. Please, if you manage to save her, bring Cynder back to the temple. Bring her home. She deserves no less, and so much more, after what she has endured."

Spyro nodded, and turned and flew into the portal.

"May the ancestors look after you," said Ignitus, adding in an undertone, "May they look after us all..."


	15. Chapter 15

Spyro was engulfed by swirling lights in hundreds of different colours, all rushing forwards as he did. The environment around him vanished, the cold air was replaced with a strange warmth, and he felt himself moving faster as he flew through the portal.

He exited the other side and found himself in easily the strangest place he had ever laid his eyes upon. It looked like the night sky, except rather than stars there were clouds of multi-coloured mist that drifted aimlessly through the void. There were floating rocks everywhere, and directly in the centre was a large, floating island, at the centre of which was a black structure that had a violet beacon surging from the top.

He could see Cynder flying toward the structure, carrying the fire crystal. Spyro rocketed after her, but even so didn't manage to reach her in time. As he landed, she had already placed the crystal at the side of the beacon.

"Cynder, Stop!" Spyro shouted. Cynder turned, both surprised and angry.

"You're a persistent little fella, aren't you?" she growled at him, "You should have heeded my warning. You won't get away alive this time."

"I'm not here to fight!" said Spyro.

"Then what are you here for?" she asked. She swiped at him, but Spyro dodged it.

"I'm here to help you!" Spyro said desperately.

"Help me!?" Cynder laughed, "I'm perfectly fine, thank you!"

She swiped at him again, and again he dodged, not wanting to attack her or hurt her.

"Cynder, please!" Spyro pleaded, but Cynder ignored him and attacked again and again. Spyro could tell it was getting on her nerves.

"Stop acting like a coward and fight!" she yelled at him. He dodged again, and again, and again, and Cynder began to loose her temper.

"Cynder, listen to me!" said Spyro, "What ever he's telling you it's a lie, it's all one big trick!"

"You know nothing of him!" Cynder shrieked. She jumped down on top of him, Spyro only just managing to roll out of the way.

"You have to understand, he's using you!" said Spyro, "He's corrupted you, this isn't who you're supposed to be!"

"Shut up!" yelled Cynder.

"If you don't listen to me, you'll die, he'll kill you!" Spyro shouted back, "He needs your magical power to open the portal, you're the last crystal!"

"YOU'RE LYING!" Cynder screamed at him, for the first time sounding feaful. She pounced at him, too fast for him to dodge, and pinned him to the ground under her claws.

"Fight back!" Cynder shouted at him, "Why won't you fight back?!"

Spyro couldn't answer. He was struggling for air, Cynder's claws curled tightly around his neck. His vision was going hazy. There was nothing more he could do.

"It's because you know now, isn't it?" said Cynder, "You know there's nothing left to fight for!"

Then one last idea formed in his mind. Though others had doubted him, told him it was impossible, that he was too small, he had to try it. It was his only chance. He conjured all his elemental ability, concentrating it within him, building it up.

Cynder went from angry to fearful as she saw what was happening. Where Spyro's heart was, a purple glow was building, getting brighter and bigger. It gave Spyro strength, and he managed to slowly push Cynder off.

"Wh-What's happening?!" said Cynder.

"There's always something," said Spyro. There was a noise like a cannon blast and several bright waves of purple energy as the light in Spyro's heart seemingly exploded as he ascended into the air. Cynder was thrown from her feet and knocked onto her side at the foot of the beacon. Spyro's eyes glowed the same colour as the waves, and as the Fury blast died away, Spyro landed back on his feet. His heart and eyes still glowing, his Fury still ablaze, he marched over to Cynder and held her head in place, staring into her eyes once again.

"Remember, Cynder," said Spyro, "Remember!"

Cynder's eyes widened in shock as she was pulled into a memory, a memory she had forgotten existed.

She was pushing herself out of an eggshell, nothing more than an infant. She flopped outwards and landed on a cold stone table, and looked up to see someone standing above her. She went cold with fear.

The creature picked her up roughly by the tail, and swung her over to a workbench. Several more of the creatures forced her front legs and tail into cold, metal shackles, which shrank down to fit her. Her head was also forced into one, which did the same, making her give a small choke.

Then, the tip of her tail and the thumbs of her wings were forced into razor-sharp blades, which made her fell unbalanced. After they had shrunken to fit, the first creature picked her up again, and chained her by the neck above a strange structure. The creature waved a hand and a stream of bright violet light shot up from beneath her. All she felt then was pain. A voice was speaking to her, telling her what to do. She couldn't fight it. She could feel her body changing, growing, maturing. Soon, she felt disconnected from her body. She watched like a passenger, confused, as her body moved of it's own accord. Then, she came to her senses. It was normal, this was who she was, who she had always been.

"Ready to comply, master," she said softly.

Back in the present, Cynder was screaming as the memory flooded back to her. She reared back, shaking her head and moving about wildly, clearly in a lot of pain.

"Cynder..." said a deep, dark voice. From what Spyro could tell, the voice came from the beacon.

"Cynder," the voice said, "Stop this nonsense and finish the job. He must die."

Cynder didn't answer, but she did stop moving, and simply stood still, her eyes screwed up closed, breathing hard.

"Cynder," said the voice, "You are wasting time. Kill him now!"

"No..." said Cynder quietly.

"What did you say?" said the voice.

"I said NO!" said Cynder, opening her eyes and turning to face the beacon. Spyro saw with relief and amazement that her eyes had turned to green, like they did when they locked eyes.

"I won't do your bidding any more!" she screamed at the beacon, "You've been lying this whole time!"

"You DARE?!" said the voice, "You dare to disobey me? To challenge me?"

"I never obeyed you!" said Cynder, "You used me! You wore me like some sick costume, controlled me like a puppet! Not once in my entire life have I ever obeyed you!"

"This is impossible!" said the voice, "The curse was fail-safe!"

"Might want to read into it more next time," growled Cynder, "I will never serve you again, you'll have to live without me from now on!"

"Well then," said the voice coldly, "I'll just have to make the most of you while you're here."

She made a noise of pain as bolts of what seemed to be white lightning began to crawl over Cynder's scales, and flow into the beacon. Her elemental power was being drained.

"Spyro!" she called out, "Go! Before he finishes!"

"I'm not leaving you behind!" Spyro replied.

"You have to!" said Cynder, "I'm not worth risking your life for!"

Spyro watched helplessly as the beacon drained Cynder's power, killing her. As he watched, something began to happen to her. Her scars were healing, and her body was shrinking. He horns went from long and sharp to stumpy and short. Her legs became thin and gangly, and the rest of her shrank to around the same size as Spyro.

"No," Spyro muttered under his breath, "You're not staying here."

He flew over to her and scooped her up in his arms, and began to carry her to the portal. He could hear the screams of rage of the Dark Master behind him, but he flew on regardless. He came to the portal, and could feel it closing. He summoned what was left of his strength and managed to escape just as the portal closed completely.

His vision became cloudy, and he caught a glimpse of a large creature walking over to save him, before passing out completely.


	16. Chapter 16

"Spyro..."

He could hear the distant voice, calling his name, echoing as if far away in a void. He tried to move, or respond, but he couldn't. His ears rang.

"Spyro," said the voice again. It sounded clearer, louder, and closer. He recognised the voice, but it was kinder and friendlier than he had heard it before.

"Spyro! Wake up!" said Cynder. Spyro opened his eyes, squinting in the light. His vision came into focus and he saw Cynder's wide, green eyes above him, staring with concern. She visibly relaxed when he came around.

"Thank goodness your alright," said Cynder.

"Where are we?" asked Spyro, his head still spinning.

"The dragon temple," said Cynder, "Ignitus brought us back here nearly eight hours ago. You've been asleep for that long."

"But, the portal, the Dark Master..." said Spyro. Cynder shushed him.

"It's fine, the portal closed before he could do anything else," Cynder explained, "We're safe for now."

Spyro gave a sigh of relief, and calmed down enough to take in his surroundings. Now he recognised the room: it was the healing room. Ignitus must have been the one he had seen walking toward them before he blacked out. It was daybreak now, and everything seemed calm. He looked back at Cynder, and only now did it hit him what had happened to her.

She was no bigger than him now, and was much thinner. She seemed to have reverted back to the size and age she was supposed to be. However, despite her changes, the odd symbols on her forehead and arms still remained, and her scales were still black.

It was then he noticed someone was absent.

"Where's Sparx?" Spyro asked. To his surprise and confusion, Cynder rolled her eyes with a sigh.

"If there's one thing I've learned about him, it's that he likes to hold a grudge," she told him, "He refuses to be in the same room as me because he thinks I'll attack him."

"He'll get used to you, don't worry," said Spyro, "He'll have to now."

"What do you mean?" asked Cynder.

"You're staying here, aren't you?" said Spyro, "Ignitus said you could live here once the curse broke."

"I can't stay here," said Cynder, "Not after what I put you through!"

"Cynder, none of us blame you for what happened," said Spyro. Cynder didn't look convinced.

"Honestly, that makes it worse," said Cynder, "Even if he was infecting my mind, it was still me doing those things. Even if not fully, I'm still partly to blame."

"No, Cynder," said Spyro, "None of this is your fault, you have to understand that. Your life is yours to control now, you can't live in the past forever."

Cynder didn't answer, but looked away guiltily. Spyro just looked at her. He had an odd feeling building. He felt almost shy around her, he couldn't explain it. She did look rather pretty…

The door opened, and Ignitus walked in, a relieved smile appearing on his face when he saw them both awake and well.

"How are you both feeling?" he asked.

"Fine," said Cynder.

"Sore," said Spyro.

"Yes, I'm afraid it will take some time for you to recover, Spyro," said Ignitus, "Cynder told me what happened. A perfect Fury at your age is very impressive indeed, but I'm afraid it comes at a cost. It will take some time for your powers to return."

Spyro nodded solemnly.

"Don't be disheartened," said Ignitus, "You have closed the portal to convexity, prevented the Dark Master's return, and, most importantly, brought Cynder to her rightful home."

Cynder gave a small smile, and Spyro cheered up a bit.

"Is that it, then?" Spyro asked, "Is he gone forever?"

Ignitus sighed.

"I'm afraid not, Spyro," said Ignitus, "You have delayed him, that is for sure, and given us a bit of a grace period, but I'm afraid it won't be the last time we'll hear of him."

Spyro and Cynder exchanged a dark and scared look.

"But, as I said, for now we are fine," said Ignitus, "Get some rest, both of you. You've been through a rough ordeal."

He left the room, leaving Spyro and Cynder on their own.

Ignitus returned to the other guardians, who were waiting downstairs. None of them were speaking, and looked up anxious for news as Ignitus walked in.

"He's fine," said Ignitus, answering their questioning stares, "They both are."

"And the Dark Master?" asked Terrador.

"Delayed, not defeated," said Ignitus, "We must be on our guard."

"What should we do for now?" Cyril asked.

"Nothing, for the moment," said Ignitus, "Finish training Spyro and make sure Cynder feels welcomed. When something happens, when I get news of his plans, then we shall prepare our next move."

The guardians all nodded, and departed. Back up in the healing room, Spyro had gone to sit out on the balcony, for some air. Cynder came and sat next to him.

"You okay?" she asked. Spyro sighed.

"I have a bad feeling," he replied, "I think he might return sooner than everyone else thinks."

"Me, too," said Cynder, "If I know him, he's definitely got a back-up plan."

Spyro sighed again, then smiled at Cynder.

"Well, let's not worry too much," said Spyro, "I should show you around, if your going to live here."

Spyro took Cynder back inside to give her a tour of the temple, as the sun rose slowly behind them. Each of the temple's residents knew, it wasn't over yet, and yet all of them carried on as if nothing was happening.

But far away, in a mountain fortress shining in the light of a beacon, darkness was brewing, and a new plan was sure to be being put into place.


	17. End Note

Spyro and Cynder will return.

And so the universe begins. This is the end note section! In future stories you will find teasers and short synopses for future stories here. Since the next book is already out, there was no point teasing it, so now you've finished this one, why not try Five Nights at Freddy's on my profile now.

Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed this as much as I did writing it!

Got questions? For more information, teasers, a chance to theorize, and some general funny stuff, visit my Facebook page: MrPhteven-Gaming-Novels-335156926919931/


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